In a disappointing end to the Oscar run for Neeraj Ghaywan's Homebound, the film failed to get nominated in the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards. The nominations for the Academy Awards were announced by Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in California on Thursday.
The films nominated in this category are The Secret Agent (Brazil), It Was Just an Accident (France), Sentimental Value (Norway), Sirât (Spain), and The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia). Neeraj's sophomore feature film made it to the Top 15 of the selections, but missed out on making it to the Top 5.
If nominated, Homebound would have been the fourth Indian film after Mehboob Khan's Mother India (1957), Mira Nair's Salaam Bombay (1988), and Ashutosh Gowariker's Lagaan (2001), to make the cut in this category.
Neeraj Ghaywan co-wrote the Homebound screenplay with Sumit Roy based on Basharat Peer's New York Times article, A Friendship, a Pandemic and a Death Beside the Highway. The film, starring Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa in the lead, follows two friends, Mohammed Shoaib Ali (Ishaan) and Chandan Kumar Valmiki (Vishal), who, due to their respective religious and caste identities, have never earned respect or felt a sense of belonging. In their bid to be respected, they determinedly pursue a career in the police department. As they inch closer towards their goal, they face immense pressure and struggles that strain their friendship. Janhvi Kapoor played Sudha Bharti, who motivates the two to pursue higher studies.
While it might have not made it to the final stages of the Oscars, Homebound has won a fair share of laurels in India and beyond. The film won a nomination in the Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard Award category, won the Audience Award in the Warsaw Film Festival, Best International Feature Film in the Zurich Film Festival, and in the Best Director and Film categories in the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.
Some of the films that Homebound pipped to be India's official entry to the Oscars were Pushpa 2, Sabar Bonda, Kubera, Boong, and Superboys of Malegaon.
The 98th Academy Awards are set to be held on March 15.