Ishaan Khatter's 'Homebound' selected for Toronto International Film Festival
What's the story
The film Homebound, starring Vishal Jethwa, Janhvi Kapoor, and Ishaan Khatter, has been selected for the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in the Gala Presentations category. The announcement was made by Karan Johar on social media on Wednesday evening. "Extremely thrilled and elated to be a part of this prestigious festival - another time for us at Dharma," he wrote. TIFF 2025 begins on September 4.
Film's synopsis
Here's the plot of 'Homebound'
Homebound tells the story of two childhood friends from a small village in North India who aspire to become police officers. The film explores how their dreams create rifts in their friendship. The cast includes Khatter as Mohammed Shoaib Ali, Kapoor as Sudha Bharti, Jethwa as Chandan Kumar and Harshika Parmar as Vaishali (Chandan's sister).
Director's acclaim
Neeraj Ghaywan's direction praised by the cast
The film is directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, who has been praised by the cast for his work. Jethwa called working on Homebound a "dream" and lauded Ghaywan's direction. "Working on Homebound has been nothing short of a dream. To collaborate with Neeraj Ghaywan sir, whose cinema I deeply respect, and under Dharma Productions, has been a milestone for me," he said.
Hollywood connection
Martin Scorsese is executive producer of 'Homebound'
Homebound has also attracted international attention with Hollywood director Martin Scorsese joining as an executive producer. Before the Cannes Film Festival 2025 in May, Scorsese expressed his admiration for Ghaywan's work and said he was "glad" Homebound was an official selection at Un Certain Regard in Cannes this year. The project is yet to get a theatrical release date in India.
Additional recognition
'Homebound' nominated at Indian Film Festival of Melbourne
Homebound is making waves everywhere! The film has been nominated for the Best Film award at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2025. It will compete with other films like Kalki 2898 AD, L2: Empuraan, Maharaj, Meiyazhagan, Stree 2, and Superboys of Malegaon.