The press meet had been decided even before the Oscar Jury (which included this writer!) had finalized Homebound as India’s official entry in the Best International Feature category. The film had also been shown to a select Indian media a week before its theatrical release over here (which will happen on September 26).

At the press meet, director and co-writer Neeraj Ghaywan, Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethva, who play the two protagonists, were present. In view of the Oscar triumph, the mood was exceptionally upbeat.

Said Ghaywan, “My film has a message of humanity. It’s not just meant for Indians but for the world. We tend to have disdain for people who do not look like us, talk like us or have different value systems. My hardcore message is that we should at least lend them a ear and maybe have a dignified conversation with them and thus show empathy!”

Ishaan Khatter added, “I have been saying this all over and I have no qualms in repeating here that this is the film I am the proudest of. Living this journey has been truly transformative, and the world view we were able to gather from living this journey was tremendous. I have admired Neeraj since his first film, Masaan, which released 10 years ago when I was not an actor, and I wouldn’t have imagined that his second film would be with me!”

He added, “I think that this is a necessary film for not just India but also the world—for every audience around the globe. The unanimous response we have received when it was screened repeatedly at Cannes, at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and in Melbourne showed what a special film it is. At TIFF, which had an audience comprising film critics, film connoisseurs and more, the claps and applause were like how people react to entertainers at Mumbai’s single screens!”

He went on, “But the journey itself was special. We went to the villages and met the kind of people we have shown, spent time with them, asked about them and their life, what they liked and disliked, what gave them joy or sadness, and even partook food in their homes. This kind of experience goes beyond the film. It was an ajeeb-sa (unique) spiritual experience.”

The actor also said, “Many scenes seem simple on paper but when enacted become tricky, and vice-versa, but in this film, a challenging scene on paper was also challenging to enact! Some scenes were based on reality and here the responsibility increased as we had to be honest and avoid being manipulative.”

Asked why Vishal Jethwa always chose emotionally intense characters (Mardaani 2, Salaam Venky), the actor replied, “People approach me thinking that it is safe to take me because of my track-record in such roles. But I am a greedy actor. Then there is the guru-mantra (a teacher’s primary advice) given by Aditya Chopra sir. He told me that in every film I must just surrender to my director. In this case, Neeraj sir always wants his actors to live their characters, not merely perform the roles and speak the lines.”

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