Cannes 2025: How Scorsese helped push Indian drama ‘Homebound' over the line

France 24

23-05-2025

The frantic scramble for a coveted government job kicks off on a crowded train platform in Neeraj Ghaywan's 'Homebound', a deeply moving tale of two young men striving to escape a life of poverty and discrimination on India 's fringes.
Executive produced by Martin Scorsese, who helped push the project over the line, the harrowing social drama is Ghaywan's first film in a decade after his 2015 Cannes breakout 'Masaan'. It drew a lengthy standing ovation at this year's festival, where it premiered in the Un Certain Regard segment dedicated to emerging cinema.
The stage is set when childhood friends Chandan (Vishal Jethwa) and Shoaib (Ishaan Khatter) elbow their way onto a packed train coach bound for the city, where they hope to sit an exam for aspiring civil servants.
'Are we going to an exam or to war?' they ask after climbing on board, in the film's breathless opening scene.
The two friends hail from a poor village in northern India and dream of becoming policemen, hoping to land the job they believe will grant them protection and dignity.
Ghaywan says theirs is an everyday story in a country where more than 40% of young graduates are unemployed and young people crave the security of government employment.
'Civil service jobs are for life, so they are particularly sought after, especially for people from marginalised backgrounds,' he explains. 'Most youths in our country aim for this kind of job, it's a real obsession.'
The director adds: 'The train scene at the beginning is not an invention. It was inspired by videos where young people storm goods trains, fighting to get on the roof in the hope of making it to the exam. It happens in real life.'
Outcasts
Shoaib and Chandan, however, are pushed back at every turn, because one is Muslim and the other is from the lowest rung in the rigid Hindu caste system.
Caste and religion are highly sensitive subjects in India, where the Hindu nationalist government is routinely accused of stoking hatred of Muslims.
'In our country, the scrutiny begins with your name, from which people determine which caste you belong to,' says Ghaywan. 'The characters in the film believe that getting a job in the police will offer them a form of dignity, a form of protection from the hate and shaming that comes their way.'
'Homebound' is the second feature by Ghaywan, whose first film 'Masaan' drew rave reviews and picked up two awards in Cannes in 2015.
Instead of jump-starting the director's career, however, the unexpected success clipped his wings – and it has taken him a decade to finish his second film.
'I suffered from impostor syndrome because of my origins,' explains the filmmaker, pointing to his own low-caste background. 'The feeling peaked in Cannes, where I felt undeserving of the praise and attention.'
11:22
Ghaywan has described himself as the 'first acknowledged Dalit behind a camera' in the history of Indian cinema.
'I harbour a lot of shame, but at the same time, I'm driven by this quest to do something, to talk about those left behind,' he says. 'Our cinema should tell more stories about them. We only talk about urban stories when 60% of people live in villages.'
'Shaped' by Scorsese
As he laboured to write the rich and complex screenplay for his second feature, Ghaywan made a decisive encounter that helped break the deadlock.
His co-producer Mélita Toscan du Plantier, who had already backed his first film, decided to put him in touch with her longtime friend Scorsese, knowing that the legendary director of 'Goodfellas' and 'Taxi Driver' had spoken in glowing terms of 'Masaan' when it came out a decade ago.
'We decided to send the screenplay to Martin Scorsese. He read it and sent me some comments by email, making suggestions about the narrative arc, the structure,' Ghaywan recalls. 'The feedback was so good, I modified the script accordingly.'
Scorsese again helped out during the editing process, watching three different cuts of the film and providing 'detailed and pertinent' feedback, adds Ghaywan, who says he drew on Scorsese's remarks while ensuring his film retained a distinctive cultural identity.
'In India, we have our own way of expressing emotions, including the way we speak,' he says. 'Our films can be perceived as excessively emotional or melodramatic, but it is very important for me to retain this component because it is our cinematic language.'
Ghaywan revealed Scorsese's role as the film's executive producer in late April, two weeks before heading to Cannes. He highlights the 'selflessness' of the iconic director who played a 'crucial role' in the movie's making.
'I'm extremely lucky to have had a legend like him spend all this time to help shape my film,' he says. 'I've experienced what every independent filmmaker dreams of.'