Latest news with #Ghaywan
New Straits Times
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New Straits Times
#SHOWBIZ: Scorsese-backed Indian film makes waves at Cannes
ON paper Neeraj Ghaywan's "Homebound", which premiered at the Cannes film festival on Wednesday, looks like a Bollywood tearjerker. Two best friends who grew up together in a poor village leave to take on the world, with their friendship and mettle tested at every turn. But this is no average buddy movie. Set in northern India during the pandemic lockdowns, the moving epic is much more than a typical buddy film, as one of the boys is a Muslim and the other a low-caste Hindu. Their unbreakable bond, forged in adversity, is the beating heart of the film, which so moved Hollywood director Martin Scorsese that he got on board to help take it to the world. There are millions of such friendships that cross religious and caste divides in India, its director said, "but it has never been shown" before on the big screen. Ghaywan said: "Only a few of films have ever featured Dalit (lower caste) stories and most of those were made by people from the privileged castes." Ghaywan is a rare figure in Bollywood — a Dalit director from the lowest rung of the rigid Hindu caste system. He believes he is the "first acknowledged Dalit behind a camera in the history of Hindi cinema. That's a stunning disparity". This disparity means that the stories of a quarter of India's 1.4 billion people, those who are tribal or from castes once disparagingly known as "untouchables", are rarely seen on screen. "India and the world really need to see their stories," said Ghaywan, adding that with such a vast population "it is understandable that they are often talked about as just statistics". "I am a Dalit. So there's a lot of me in the movie," said Ghaywan, who lives near Mumbai but grew up in southern India. It is also loosely inspired by a heartbreaking real-life tale of poor workers who set out on foot for an epic journey back to their village from the city during the Covid lockdowns. Ghaywan brought his two leading actors, Bollywood heartthrob Ishaan Khatter and rising star Vishal Jethwa, into villages to experience life among India's poor firsthand. "We went through a long immersive exercise. We met people and ate in their homes. It was such a humbling experience." AVOIDING CONTROVERSY Caste and religious discrimination remain highly sensitive topics in India. The country is currently on edge after recent tensions with Muslim-majority Pakistan, sparked by a terror attack in Indian-administered Kashmir last month. India's Hindu nationalist government has often been accused of stoking hatred of Muslims. Aware of the need to pass India's strict film censors, Ghaywan said he avoided overt politics or anything that might inflame communal tensions. Sandhya Suri's movie, "Santosh", which premiered at Cannes last year, still hasn't screened in India despite winning numerous international awards. "Santosh" shed light on sexism, religious discrimination and corruption in Indian police as well as the treatment of lower caste people. Ghaywan added, "I prefer to keep politics beneath the surface of the narrative. If your politics override the story, it becomes propaganda. Even good propaganda is still propaganda — it's not cinema." Emotion, however, holds no fear for Ghaywan. "I embrace it. I make no apologies for it. We Indians are an emotional people and this is a story that stirs many emotions." Industry insiders have "bawled and bawled" at private screenings of the film, he said. Scorsese praised it, saying: "Neeraj has made a beautifully crafted film that's a significant contribution to Indian cinema." He said he wasn't surprised that Cannes snapped it up for its secondary "Un Certain Regard" selection after Ghaywan won two prizes there in 2015 with his debut film "Masaan". Though flattered by the recognition, Ghaywan said he didn't make the film for festivals or arthouse audiences. "The most important thing is that it is seen in India." He said that "Homebound" does not target or accuse anyone, noting that the story is set in a fictional state. India's presence at Cannes is strong this year, with Satyajit Ray's "Days and Nights in the Forest" receiving a gala screening, aided by Hollywood director Wes Anderson, who helped fund the restoration of the 1970 masterpiece.
Kuwait Times
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Kuwait Times
Scorsese-backed Indian film packs emotional punch at Cannes
On paper Neeraj Ghaywan's 'Homebound' - which premiered Wednesday at the Cannes film festival - looks like a typical Bollywood tearjerker. Two best friends who grew up together in a poor village leave to take on the world, their friendship and mettle tested at every turn. But this is no average buddy movie. The moving epic set in northern India around pandemic lockdowns is so much more than that because one of the boys is a Muslim and the other a low-caste Hindu. Their unbreakable bond, forged in adversity, is the beating heart of the film, which so moved Hollywood legend Martin Scorsese that he got on board to help bring it to the world. There are millions of such friendships which cross religious and caste divides in India, its director told AFP, 'but it has never been shown' before on the big screen. 'Only a handful of films have ever featured Dalit (lower caste) stories and most of those were made by people from the privileged castes,' Ghaywan said. Ghaywan is that very rare beast in Bollywood - a Dalit director from the lowest rung in the rigid Hindu caste system. He believes he is the 'first acknowledged Dalit behind a camera in the history of Hindi cinema. That's a stunning disparity,' he told AFP. And one that means the stories of the quarter of India's 1.4 billion people who are tribals or come from castes once disparagingly known as 'untouchables', are not being seen. 'India and the world really needs to see their stories,' said Ghaywan, adding that with such a vast population 'it is understandable that they are often talked of as just statistics.' 'I myself come from a marginalised background. I am a Dalit. So there's a lot of me in the movie,' said Ghaywan, who lives near Mumbai but grew up in the south. It is also loosely inspired by a heartbreaking real-life tale of poor workers who set out on foot on an epic journey back to their village from the city during the Covid lockdowns. Ghaywan brought his two leading actors, Bollywood heartthrob Ishaan Khatter and rising star Vishal Jethwa, out to the villages to see the lives of India's poor from the inside. 'We did a long immersive exercise,' Ghaywan told AFP. 'We got to know people and ate in their homes. It was genuinely such a humbling experience.' Avoiding controversy Caste and religious discrimination are highly sensitive subjects in India and the country is currently on edge after four days of fighting with Muslim-majority Pakistan following a deadly terror attack in Indian-administered Kashmir last month. India's Hindu nationalist government has often been accused of stoking hatred of Muslims. Knowing he has to get past India's censors, Ghaywan insisted he has tried to avoid politics or inflaming tensions. Sandhya Suri's movie 'Santosh', which premiered at Cannes last year, still hasn't screened in India despite winning a heap of international awards. Santosh shone a light on sexism, religious discrimination and corruption in the Indian police as well as the treatment of lower caste people. 'I like to keep politics underneath the narrative, because if your politics supersedes the story it's just propaganda. Even good propaganda is propaganda. It's not cinema,' Ghaywan added. Emotion, however, holds no fear for Ghaywan. 'I embrace it. I make no apologies for it. We Indians are an emotional people and this is a story that brings up a lot of them,' he explained. Industry insiders have 'bawled and bawled' at private screenings of the film, he told AFP, with Scorsese saying that 'Neeraj has made a beautifully crafted film that's a significant contribution to Indian cinema.' He said he wasn't surprised that Cannes snapped it up for its secondary 'Certain Regard' selection after Ghaywan won two prizes there in 2015 with his debut film 'Masaan'. Flattered as he is, Ghaywan said that 'I did not make the movie for festivals' or arthouse audiences. 'The most important thing is that it is seen in India,' he told AFP. Ghaywan stressed that 'Homebound' is 'attacking no one', with its story even set 'in a fictional state'. India is very much in the spotlight at Cannes with Satyajit Ray's 'Days and Nights in the Forest' getting a gala screening after Hollywood director Wes Anderson helped pay for the restoration of the 1970 masterpiece. - AFP
The Wire
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Wire
At Cannes 2025, India Sees a Calm After the Storm
Crew members install the red carpet at the Palais des Festivals ahead of the opening ceremony of the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. Photo: AP/PTI. Real journalism holds power accountable Since 2015, The Wire has done just that. But we can continue only with your support. Contribute Now Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino was once asked by his good friend and director Robert Rodriguez on his talk show The Director's Chair – what endeared him to Cannes so much. Tarantino likened the film festival to the chess championships where Bobby Fischer was a contender. I'm assuming what he meant was that everyone invited here was either at the top of their craft, or was swinging for the fences – championing the French saying ' l'art pour l'art (art for art's sake)'. Tarantino, who broke out as a phenomenon after Pulp Fiction (1994) won the Palme d'Or at the 47th Cannes film festival, is right about its durable prestige in terms of being rated among the best and the bravest filmmakers of the world. This is why cinephiles from India look forward to the festival each year – to get a sense of where Indian cinema stands vis-a-vis film industries from around the world. Payal Kapadia, whose All We Imagine As Light (2024) became the first Indian film in nearly three decades to play in competition and ended up winning the Grand Prix (losing narrowly to Sean Baker's Anora), returned as a part of the Cannes jury alongside names like Halle Berry, Hong Sangsoo, and Jeremy Strong among others. After an exciting 2024 edition, it was back to business with no Indian films in contention for the festival's top prize. There were, however, three Indian films playing at the festival. Neeraj Ghaywan, whose first film Masaan (2015), premiered in the Un Certain Regard section, returned with his second film Homebound (2025) playing in the same section. Produced by Karan Johar's Dharma Production, with executive producer Martin Scorsese on board, the film starring Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor – is based on a New York Times op-ed written by veteran journalist Basharat Peer. It's only Ghaywan's second feature film in a decade, where he's spent working on ad film projects, directing for web series, and also helming short films in anthologies. Ghaywan's film is based on the lives of two friends, who were a part of a mass migration that took place after a nationwide lockdown was announced on March 23, 2020 because of the rising cases of COVID-19. Homebound got glowing reviews in Cannes, and it will be interesting to see how the film will be received by the Censor Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Especially because it depicts one of India's most pressing humanitarian crises in recent memory, inferring a mishandling by the powers that be. Anubhav Sinha's Bheed (2023) is the only other Hindi feature film that depicted the aftermath of the lockdown announcement, facing significant online outrage upon the release of its trailer. However, Sinha's did get an eventual theatrical release after some minor tweaks. Kokob Gebrehaweria Tesfay's A Doll Made Up Of Clay was among the 16 short films selected among the 2,700 entries for Cinéfondation – a category that features the works of student films from across the world. Tesfay – an Ethiopian national and an international student (in the Direction department) at the Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute (SRFTI) in Kolkata – made the film around a Nigerian footballer, who after a career-ending injury, seeks escape through an ancestral ritual. Tesfay's is the third student film to find acceptance in the section in the last five years from India after Ashmita Guha Neogi's CatDog (2020) and Chidananda Naik's Sunflowers were the first to know… (2024). Both these films went on to win first prize – a grant of €15,000. Shivendra Singh Dungapur's Film Heritage Foundation (FHF), at the forefront of India's efforts at archiving and restoring classic films, were also at Cannes for a fourth consecutive time. FHF screened the 4K restorations of Satyajit Ray's Aranyer Din Ratri [Days and Nights in the Forest/1970, Bengali] and Sumitra Peries' Gehenu Lamai [Girls/1978, Sinhalese]. Both films got long standing ovations, especially Ray's film – which had Wes Anderson among its audience. The Hollywood director has long cited Ray as an influence, and is also thanked by Dungarpur in the restored version of the film. Among the primary cast, Sharmila Tagore and Simi Garewal accompanied Dungarpur on the red carpet of the premiere. FHF is slowly becoming a regular feature at the Cannes film festival – joining hands with labs and archivists from around the world to preserve films from the subcontinent. Earlier they screened G. Aravindan's Thampu (1978) in 2022, M.K. Binodini Devi's Ishanou (1990) in 2023, and Shyam Benegal's Manthan (1984) last year. The chasm between official selections and films merely boarding the hype train at Cannes, continues to exist. Among them is Anupam Kher's Tanvi The Great, which premiered at the Marche du film (the Cannes Film Market) – a place where any film seeking distribution can hold a screening for potential exhibitors, audiences. Many films playing in the Cannes Film Market tend to conflate their achievement with a 'Cannes premiere' – without necessarily being an official selection, which only happens through a highly competitive selection process. It's a bit like how influencers have begun showing up on the red carpet without an invitation in the last few years, because they have the money and sponsorship to show up. As indie filmmakers and actors, part of official selections, tend to struggle to pay for their trip to Cannes. India has had a good showing at Cannes film festival in the last few years — with Payal Kapadia's A Night of Knowing Nothing (2021) and Shaunak Sen's All That Breathes (2022) winning the Camera d'Or in successive years. And Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light picking up the Grand Prix in 2024. Anasuya Sengupta winning Best Actor (Un Certain Regard) for The Shameless (2024) was something no pundit could've predicted, and yet the film is nowhere to be found on Indian platforms a year later. At the time of writing this, Jafar Panahi's It Was Just An Accident won the Palme d'Or, while Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value picked up the Grand Prix. Let's hope the Indian contingent doesn't lose momentum of the last few years – and if the Bharat Pavillion's continued neglect of its official selections helps matters. For those interested, there might be a lesson in Panahi's win.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Homebound' Cast & Director Neeraj Ghaywan Talk Martin Scorsese's Notes, Gujarati Folk Singing & Artistic Vocations — Cannes Studio
Neeraj Ghaywan's Homebound follows two childhood friends from a small North Indian village as they take an exam to become a police and chase a job that promises them the dignity they have long been denied. However, as they get closer to their dream, mounting desperation threatens the friendship. Starring Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa, the film was executive produced by Martin Scorsese. More from Deadline Cannes Film Festival Winners Announced: Grand Prize To 'Sentimental Value'; 'The Secret Agent's Wagner Moura Best Actor, Kleber Mendonça Filho Best Director - Updating Live Neon Taking North American Rights To Natalie Portman Cannes Animation 'Arco' 'Imago' Director Déni Oumar Pitsaev On Winning Two Prizes In Cannes: "I Didn't Expect It At All" Ghaywan credits co-producer Mélita Toscan du Plantier for bringing Scorsese onboard. Ghaywan previously directed Masaan, which premiered in Cannes' Un Certain Regard program in 2015. 'The first time that he read the script, he sent me notes over email about how he felt,' Ghaywan said about Scorsese, in an interview at Deadline's Cannes studio. 'He helped me structure the script in various phases. He told me some things about being expository, saying something with a bigger voice or being more subtle about things, or about certain characters and arcs. 'He also helped me with the edit,' added Ghaywan. 'He watched the cut and he sent notes via email. There was one time I got on a Zoom with him and it was incredible. He just has this childlike energy and you're sitting across from him, even though it's via a computer, and it's surreal. Words can't describe how much it means to me for somebody of that stature, giving it so much care and attention.' For stars Khatter, Jethwa and Kapoor, they said that working with Ghaywan was something they had their eyes on for some time. 'I was called in to see the chemistry between me and Ishaan, how we look together onscreen,' said Jethwa, on how he became part of Homebound. 'We read a few scenes. I was clear in my mind that I wanted to do this film.' Khatter called Ghaywan's Masaan a 'beautiful film,' so when he received a call from producer Karan Johar to become part of Homebound, he knew that he had to take a look. 'For all of us, this was a very transformative experience,' said Khatter. 'All of these roles required us to shed vanity, and also lose a little bit of ourselves. 'I was incredibly moved by the script,' said Kapoor. 'He's one of the greatest directors in our country… I messaged him after shooting this film that I don't mind if I need to play a tree in the background of his next film, I just need to be in it.' With the film following two friends on the cusp of finding their vocation, Ghaywan and the cast revealed alternative careers they would have pursued if they were not a filmmaker or actor. Kapoor said that she would have wanted to be a writer, while Khatter shared that he would have still sought out some kind of artistic path. 'It would have to be an artistic profession,' said Khatter. 'I don't think I have much imagination beyond the arts because it kind of encompasses everything — the life of an actor. You hold interest in all lines of work, because they are all potential characters for you to play. If it weren't acting and dancing, which are my primary passions, I would want to write or do something in music, or even photography.' For Jethwa, he would have pursued Gujarati folk singing. 'This is what my soul loves and I cannot imagine my life without Gujarati folk,' says Jethwa. 'I can listen to that music morning, afternoon, evening and night. Even now, I sometimes feel like leaving the industry and becoming a Gujarati folk singer because that's where I belong, that satisfies my soul a lot.' Asking for a beat from his fellow actors and Ghaywan, Jethwa proceeded to give a rousing rendition of a Gujarati song in the Deadline studio, which was met with enthusiasm and rapturous cheers. 'It sounds very weird, but more than acting, I enjoy Gujarati folk singing,' said Ghaywan. 'Maybe I'm just a bathroom singer but I love that a lot.' { pmcCnx({ settings: { plugins: { pmcAtlasMG: { iabPlcmt: 1, }, pmcCnx: { singleAutoPlay: 'auto' } } }, playerId: "32fe25c4-79aa-406a-af44-69b41e969e71", mediaId: "b1baa09f-6d51-4676-8b01-04a6a3857bd2", }).render("connatix_player_b1baa09f-6d51-4676-8b01-04a6a3857bd2_1"); }); Best of Deadline 'Poker Face' Season 2 Guest Stars: From Katie Holmes To Simon Hellberg Everything We Know About Amazon's 'Verity' Movie So Far Everything We Know About 'The Testaments,' Sequel Series To 'The Handmaid's Tale' So Far
The Hindu
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Cannes 2025: The true story behind Neeraj Ghaywan's ‘Homebound', inspired by a pandemic-era New York Times essay
Neeraj Ghaywan's new film Homebound, which premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, finds its roots in a poignant real-life story first told in a New York Times op-ed during India's COVID-19 lockdown. The film, which drew a standing ovation at its premiere but did not take home any awards, was inspired by journalist Basharat Peer's 2020 essay Taking Amrit Home (now retitled A Friendship, a Pandemic and a Death Beside the Highway). The essay recounts the journey of two young migrant workers, Mohammad Saiyub and Amrit Kumar, friends from Devari village in Uttar Pradesh. One Muslim, the other Dalit, the pair had migrated to Surat in Gujarat, working in different factories and sharing a rented room. When India entered a strict lockdown in March 2020, factories shut down, and their savings began to dwindle. With public transport suspended and no access to train tickets, they eventually boarded a crowded truck headed for home. During the journey, Amrit fell seriously ill. Fearing infection, fellow passengers abandoned him on the roadside. Saiyub, however, refused to leave his friend behind. Stranded in rural Madhya Pradesh, they were eventually admitted to a local hospital with the help of a local politician. Amrit died shortly after, not from COVID-19, but from dehydration. Saiyub, who tested negative for the virus, carried his friend's body back to their village. The story caught Ghaywan's attention during the pandemic. A recommendation from friend and producer Somen Mishra at Dharma Productions led him to the article. What moved Ghaywan most seemed to be the tender, non-political friendship between two young men from historically oppressed communities, navigating both a humanitarian crisis and the weight of social divisions. While Dharma Productions negotiated the rights with TheNew York Times — since Peer was no longer employed there and therefore received no royalties — Ghaywan began working on a script that fictionalised the protagonists' backstories while staying faithful to the journey described in the article. The resulting Homebound, stars Vishal Jethwa and Ishaan Khatter as Chandan Kumar and Mohammed Shoaib Ali, characters based on Amrit and Saiyub. Their shared aspiration to join the state police service and escape the limitations imposed by caste and religion forms the emotional foundation of the film. Martin Scorsese, who had previously supported the restoration of Indian classics but never a contemporary Hindi-language production, came on board as executive producer after being introduced to the project by French producer Mélita Toscan du Plantier. 'Neeraj has made a beautifully crafted film that's a significant contribution to Indian cinema,' Scorsese said in a statement. For Ghaywan, who grew up in a Dalit family, the film's themes are personal. 'I am the only acknowledged person from the community who is there behind and in front of the camera in all of Hindi cinema history,' he noted. His motivation for the project was simple: 'What if we pick one person out of that statistic and see what happened in their lives?' Despite missing out on a prize, Homebound received strong critical response, and its presence at Cannes will likely translate to potential award season contention later in the year, à la Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light.
