New Delhi: India’s official entry to the Oscars, Homebound, did not receive a nomination in the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards, despite advancing to the shortlist. Neeraj Ghaywan’s directorial fell short when the final nominations were announced on 22 January.
The snub has come as a disappointment, especially in light of its critical success. Homebound, starring Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor, was nominated in the Un Certain Regard category at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and secured a second runner-up position at the Toronto International Film Festival last year.
Taking to Instagram Stories, Karan Johar wrote: “It’s a pity ‘Homebound‘ didn’t make it to the final Oscar nominations, it is among the finest and most important films India has ever made. Heck, it’s among the most outstanding films ever to be made. Thank you for its beauty, its sadness, and its hope.”
So, why did the film not make the shortlist? Film critics say that the West’s ignorance of and understanding the caste system could be a “minor reason” behind the snub. Largely, it’s because the film had limited international visibility.
“Generally, for a movie to succeed, to get nominated in Oscars, it needs to have a good theatrical run in the US, in North America. More audiences have to watch it, it has to be talked about by the academy members, you know,” said veteran film critic Ramesh Bala.
He admits that Homebound has done phenomenally well in the festival circuit, it was presented by Hollywood director Martin Scorsese, but still having a theatrical run in the US, where it collects like Rs 10-20 million, outside the Indian theatres, is necessary.
“Running and being popular among the mainstream audience, the way RRR did, is more important,” he added.
What went right for SS Rajamouli’s RRR was that it first blew up in the US, after which the team campaigned aggressively around it. And many prominent American filmmakers like James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, the Russo Brothers and James Gunn posted on their social media handles after watching the film. And, publicly praised it.
Johar has previously spoken about the financial demands of Oscar campaigning, calling it a “bottomless” pit.
“We were doing Homebound. I told him that doing an Oscar campaign will cost money, and sometimes it is a bottomless pit. Because you don’t know what the result will be, and whether you will even make it to the shortlist of 15 and then 5. It is an uphill task,” he added.
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India’s unfortunate track record
Ghaywan’s Homebound was shortlisted among 15 films from 89 official submissions worldwide at the 2026 Academy Awards.
Shortlisted films were screened and voted on by the Academy members. Homebound featured alongside major international contenders such as Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident (France) and Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice (South Korea), highlighting the category’s intense competition.
The final nominees for Best International Feature Film were The Secret Agent, It Was Just an Accident, Sentimental Value, Sirat, and The Voice of Hind Rajab.
India’s track record in the category has been limited. In the Academy’s 98-year history, only four Indian films have reached the shortlist, with just three, Mother India (1957), Salaam Bombay! (1988), and Lagaan (2002), earning final nominations.
More recently, Pan Nalin’s Chhello Show made the shortlist in 2021 but did not advance further, just like Homebound. While RRR achieved a landmark win with Naatu Naatu for Best Original Song, an Oscar victory in a film category continues to remain out of reach for India.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)