Why 'Homebound' director cast Janhvi Kapoor as a Dalit girl
What's the story
Neeraj Ghaywan's Homebound, India's official entry for the 2026 Oscars in the Best International Feature Film category, has sparked discussions over its casting choices. The film features mainstream actor Janhvi Kapoor as Sudha Bharti, a Dalit girl. In a recent event, Ghaywan explained why he chose Kapoor for this role and how he prepared her and her co-stars Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa for their characters.
Casting rationale
'In India, there are people from all walks of life'
Ghaywan said, "In India, there are people from all walks of life. What I was looking for was acting talent and a deep inner hunger to portray the character with intensity." He added that he wanted his actors to understand their characters deeply as they were representing an entire community.
Preparation process
He gave his actors this book to prepare
To prepare the actors for their roles, Ghaywan gave them Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's Annihilation of Caste. He said, "For example, the first step in their preparation was that I gave all three of them the book Annihilation of Caste to read." "After that, I explained everything to them. We visited villages so they could have real experiences."
Actor immersion
Ghaywan wanted actors to immerse themselves in characters' worlds
Ghaywan wanted his actors to step out of their privileged lives and immerse themselves in their characters' worlds. He said, "This character is not going to come to you- you have to go to it. You have to undertake that journey." "You have to step out of your privileged life, go there, and confront that reality. Only then will it truly settle within you." Homebound is produced by Karan Johar's Dharma Productions with Martin Scorsese as executive producer.