Neeraj Ghaywan’s Arresting ‘Homebound’ Is an Urgent Story

Sometimes the most powerful stories start out the smallest.

Neeraj Ghaywan’s “Homebound,” in its quietest moments, finds two friends sitting in partial silence at the rocky riverfront of their village, communicating in pauses and physicality as much as actual words, so familiar are they with each other’s souls. The scope widens as necessary — to a cross-country train ride, a college campus, a corporate office, and more — but that duo by the water is the heartbeat of a poignant, unmissable film.

“Homebound” is the story of best friends Chandan (Vishal Jethwa) and Shoaib (Ishaan Khatter), who dream of leaving their village and moving up in the world by becoming nationally recognized police officers. The story was adapted by Ghaywan and Sumit Roy from a New York Times article by Basharat Peer, with dialogues by Shreedhar Dubey and Varun Grover. As Chandan and Shoaib wait painstakingly for the results of an entrance exam that will determine their futures, the friends take it one day at a time while trying to support each other, their families, and their visions for a life still too far out of reach.

For what constrains both young men is not their actual jobs or income, but their status. Chandan is a Dalit, a low-caste Hindu in a country where the system is outlawed but the stigma persists, and Shoaib is Muslim in a time when India faces alarming rises in Islamophobia. They both face the daily indignities of such prejudice, to the point where it becomes commonplace to laugh off hurtful comments or simply lie about who they are to make life a little more bearable. While others weaponize differences like caste and religion — especially when India’s stringent COVID-19 lockdowns hit — Chandan and Shoaib see their own struggles mirrored in each other and are only drawn closer.

Ghaywan’s script is explicit but never priggish in its moral standing, letting the outstanding performances drive home the perils of bigotry more than any grandstanding dialogue. The first half of the film spends more time with Chandan, including a tentative romance with college classmate Sudha (Janhvi Kapoor), while the back half pushes Shoaib to the forefront of their friendship after a painful rift.

Jethwa is quietly powerful, Chandan’s vulnerability simmering beneath the surface, while Khatter’s Shoaib is ready to speak up and fight if anyone should dare provoke him (there are moments that flip this dynamic on its head with superb effect). Their bond is not only believable but urgently real, setting the stage for a final act that would fail completely in the wrong hands but instead achieves full emotional potency.

Despite its far-reaching themes, “Homebound” excels by holding a narrow focus, remaining loyal to Chandan and Shoaib’s specific experiences. Khyatee Mohan Kanchan’s production design makes their North Indian village feel like a universe unto itself, where just a thousand kilometers of distance is a world away. Even if they don police uniforms and move away, can they truly outmaneuver the systems holding them rigidly in place?

Artistically, “Homebound” lands further from 2024’s “Lost Ladies” (India’s official Oscar pick) and more toward “All We Imagine As Light” (the de facto choice to many), courting the commercial audience with Khatter and Kapoor and Dharma Productions while maintaining Ghaywan’s own distinctly indie sensibility throughout the film.

Its ultimate victory is that Chandan and Shoaib feel near and dear to the viewer whether or not they intimately know India’s social struggles, infrastructure, or languages. The best international films transcend all these boundaries, and “Homebound” is a resounding triumph.

Grade: A-

Dharma Productions will release “Homebound” in theaters on Friday, September 26.

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