Dharma Productions’ Homebound (UA) is the story of two bosom pals — one, a Muslim, and the other, a Dalit. They both are frustrated because they face problems in life due to the communities they belong to. While Mohammed Shoaib Ali (Ishaan Khatter) faces taunts and barbs at the work place because he is a Muslim, Chandan Kumar (Vishal Jethwa) is at the receiving end even when he applies for a job in the police force, because he belongs to a lower caste. As if life hasn’t dealt them enough severe blows, they face the biggest problem of their lives when they have to return home from another city where they both are working in a textile mill, because of the government’s lockdown imposed due to COVID-19.
The film is based on the article ‘Taking Amrit Home’ by Basharat Peer and published by New York Times. Basharat Peer, Neeraj Ghaywan and Sumit Roy’s story is sensitive and keeps the audience engaged and involved. Although it takes a sudden and unexpected turn with the introduction of the least expected COVID-19 angle, which looks like quite a convenient twist in the story, it does have its heart in the right place as it underlines the ignominy the two friends have to face in society for no fault of theirs. Neeraj Ghaywan’s screenplay is quite fast-paced and although the drama moves on a single track — of marginalisation of the communities to which Mohammed and Chandan belong — it keeps the viewers, especially the class audience, engrossed. The drama after interval, more so when the COVID-19 angle is introduced, tugs at the heart-strings. The scenes of the hardships the two friends face when they are returning from another city to their home are so hard-hitting that they would make many among the viewers cry. Some of the post-interval scenes shake the core of the viewers. Dialogues, penned by Neeraj Ghaywan, Varun Grover and Shreedhar Dubey, are excellent.
Ishaan Khatter is outstanding as Mohammed Shoaib Ali. He gives such a wonderful account of himself that you can’t help but admire his acting. Vishal Jethwa also delivers a phenomenal performance as Chandan Kumar. He is supremely natural and lives his role. The chemistry between Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa is terrific. Janhvi Kapoor, as Sudha Bharti, gets very limited scope. She does a fair job. Dadhi R. Pandey is good in the role of Chandan’s father, Avdesh Kumar. As Chandan’s mother, Shalini Vatsa gives a fantastic account of herself. Harshika has her moments as Chandan’s sister, Vaishali. Pankaj Dubey is natural as Shoaib’s father, Hassan Ali. Sudipta Saxena lives the role of Shoaib’s mother. Shreedhar Dubey makes a fine mark as head of sales, Vikas Tripathi. Kuldeep Raghuvanshi is outstanding as sales officer Kanojia. Yogendra Vikram Singh is terrific as HR head, Arjun Mishra. Chandan K. Anand makes his presence felt as Haroon Nawaz. Others lend lovely support.
Neeraj Ghaywan’s direction is extraordinary. His narration keeps the audience hooked on the proceedings and completely engaged. Amit Trivedi’s music and Varun Grover’s lyrics complement the drama splendidly. Naren Chandavarkar and Benedict Taylor’s background music is fantastic. Pratik Shah’s camerawork deserves distinction marks. Khyatee Kanchan’s production designing is superb. Nitin Baid’s editing is super-sharp.
On the whole, Homebound is a beautifully made film about casteism in the modern age, with extraordinary performances by Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa. It may do limited business at the box-office because it does not have the usual trappings of commercial cinema but it will win a lot of applause and awards as it touches the heart at many points. Its difficult title for the Hindi film-going audience (who don’t understand difficult English words like ‘Homebound’) is a major minus point as far as the box-office is concerned because many among them will assume that it’s an English film and not venture to the cinemas to watch it. Also, the very limited showcasing sought by the film’s producers (who are also its all-India distributors) will tell on its ultimate business.
Released on 26-9-’25 at Inox (daily 3 shows) another cinemas of Bombay by Dharma Productions. Publicity: fair. Opening: dull. …….Also released all over. Opening was weak at most of the places.
