Homebound makes it to Oscar shortlist: What does it mean for Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa’s film?

It is a proud moment for India as Neeraj Ghaywan’s film Homebound, featuring Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa, has made it to the shortlist of the Best International Feature category at the Academy Awards. The film is India’s official entry at the Oscars 2026 and is now in the top 15 contending to be nominated in the Best International Feature category. The film is the fifth Indian film to make it to the shortlist, which itself calls for celebration. But what does it mean to be on the Oscar shortlist? And does it mean that the film has now secured a nomination at the Oscars 2026? Here’s what it means.

Homebound makes it to Oscar shortlist: What does it mean?

The film, which premiered earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival, has made it to the Oscar 2026 shortlist in the Best International Feature category. Now, qualifying for the shortlist is in itself a big achievement, considering over 80 films were competing in this category.

While in other categories, only the Academy members relevant to that category are eligible to vote, the case is different for the Best International Feature category.

For instance, only documentary filmmakers are eligible to vote in the best documentary categories. But in the International Feature category, an Academy member has to watch all other contenders and then opt in to vote in the category. The competition is also quite huge and diverse, given that India’s official Oscars entry competed with each country’s official entry.

It should be noted that Homebound has found a spot among films like Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just An Accident (France) and Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice (South Korea).

What’s next?

Homebound is now part of the top 15. From here, it’s an uphill road for the film and its team which will have to campaign hard in order to make members of the Academy watch the film in order to secure more votes and thus make it to the top 5 nominations in the Best International Feature category.

Homebound will face competition in Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just An Accident (France), Park Chan-Wook’s No Other Choice (South Korea), and Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value (Norway) in the category.

It should be noted that India has never won an Oscar in the Best International Feature category. The last nomination from India in this category was Lagaan back in 2002, which lost to the Bosnian filmNo Man’s Land.

Only 4 Indian films made it to the shortlist

Before Homebound, only four Indian films have made it to the shortlist so far. As per the official website of the Film Federation of India, three of them also made it to the final Best International Feature category (then known as Best Foreign Film category), but didn’t win the Oscar. The films include Mehboob Khan’s Mother India (1957), which was also the first time India sent its official entry to the 30th Academy Awards.

30 years later, Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay! (1988) also made it to the nomination list, and 14 years later, Lagaan (2001) made it to the final category.

The only time an official entry from India has made it to the shortlist, but not to the main category, is Pan Nalin’s 2021 Gujarati film, The Last Film Show.

India's history at Oscars

Producer of Homebound Karan Johar took to Instagram to share his excitement over the film’s selection in the Oscar shortlist.

“I am not sure I can articulate how proud, elated and over the moon I am with the journey of #HOMEBOUND… all of us @dharmamovies are privileged to have this proud and important film in our filmography,” he wrote, adding, “From Cannes to being on the Oscar shortlist this has been such an overwhelming journey!” Ghaywan also shared the news on his social media handles, writing, “We’re deeply grateful for the extraordinary love and support we’ve received from around the world.”

Interestingly, while India is the world’s largest producer of films, only 10 Indians have won an Oscar so far, including an honorary Oscar for the late filmmaker Satyajit Ray in 1992.

Many would also recall that SS Rajamouli’s 2022 Telugu blockbuster, RRR, won the Best Original Song Oscar for the hit song ‘Natu Natu’.

The 2026 Oscar nominations will be announced on January 22, 2026.