Homebound

“Neeraj Ghaywan's powerfully moving second feature reclaims the big screen for so many elements that mainstream Hindi cinema has either lost the mojo or the ability to address, or has pushed aside. The film is urgently, cracklingly contemporary, speaking of and to an India where the advantage of birth and religion has unfairly deprived a whole section of its citizens from benefits most of us take for granted.”

“Homebound raises many questions. How did we get here? What has made us so bereft of empathy and compassion? A soul-stirring observation of a world growing cold, this is filmmaking at its finest.”

“The film is deeply moving and the director's view of social reality is profoundly compassionate. Homebound is shot without any fake embellishment, with an unflinching camera showing the ugliness of the spaces the underprivileged are forced to inhabit, and the performances by Khatter and Jethwa are wonderfully empathetic.”

“There is an authenticity to Homebound that goes beyond the writing and the language. It’s in the realness of the spaces”

“It's an emotionally rich study of friendship that ought to play as a bit syrupy given the story, but the musical score, usually very to the fore in more mainstream Indian films, has been smartly stripped down to let the excellent lead performers and strong cinematography bring the drama on their own.”

“Homebound is an unflinching portrait of caste, class, and discrimination.”

“Neeraj Ghaywan takes away the exactitude of the Op-ed essay and turns it into a deeply immersive and emotionally resonant cinematic experience, that is both specific to the pandemic and universal in its tone and tenor. Still, Homebound is a significant document of our times when social trust seems to be in a long-term decline and is a worthy bet for the elusive Oscar.”

“'Homebound,' Neeraj Ghaywan's first feature in a decade, is tear-jerking and infuriating.”