Janhvi Kapoor calls ‘Homebound’ India’s Oscar entry ‘nothing short of a dream’

Actress Janhvi Kapoor took to social media to express her joy after her film “Homebound” was named India’s official entry for the Oscars 2026.

Calling the film “nothing short of a dream,” the actress shared her gratitude for being part of the milestone project. Taking to her Instagram handle, the ‘Dhadak’ actress shared the poster of the film and captioned it, “Every part of this film has been nothing short of a dream. The journey, the people, what this story means, and how personal it’s been for everyone in our team. At every step I have been thankful I could witness this journey, which in my mind was truly the reward in itself.”

Janhvi added, “Everything since has been a celebration of all these people that I love and respect so much, for their talent, their goodness and their courage. @neeraj.ghaywan @karanjohar @vishaljethwa06 @ishaankhatter this movie and even its journey, has been about hope, in so many more ways than one would expect in cinemas on the 26th of September :).”

In a statement, Karan Johar, shared, “We are deeply honoured and humbled that Homebound has been selected as India’s official entry to the Academy Awards... Neeraj Ghaywan’s labour of love is sure to a find a home in a million hearts across the world.”

Expressing his happiness, filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan added, “I’m deeply honoured that Homebound has been chosen as India’s official entry to the Oscars. Rooted in the love for our land and our people, it carries the essence of the home we all share. To take our stories to the world and represent India at one of the biggest global stages for cinema is both humbling and a matter of pride, and for this I’m deeply grateful.”

“Homebound” has been chosen as India’s official entry for the Oscars 2026 in the Best International Feature Film category. Backed by Dharma Productions, the film also features Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa.

Kapoor made her acting debut in 2018 with the Shashank Khaitan-directed romance Dhadak, co-starring Ishaan Khatter and produced under Karan Johar’s studio Dharma Productions. A Hindi-language remake of the 2016 Marathi film Sairat, it featured her as a young upper-class girl whose life turns tragic after she elopes with a lower-class boy (played by Khatter). Writing for News18, Rajeev Masand criticised the film for removing caste-based references and deemed it inferior to the original, but felt Kapoor had “a fragility that makes her instantly endearing, and a soulful quality that makes it hard to take your eyes off her on screen”. Conversely, Anna M. M. Vetticad of Firstpost thought that she “lacks personality and delivers a colourless performance”. She won the Zee Cine Award for Best Female Debut.

Kapoor’s next screen appearance came in 2020 when she starred in Zoya Akhtar’s segment in the Netflix horror anthology film Ghost Stories. Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express disliked the segments but added that the “only real surprise comes from Janhvi Kapoor in a solid, real act”. She then took on the title role of aviator Gunjan Saxena in the biopic Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, which due to the COVID-19 pandemic could not be released theatrically and instead streamed on Netflix.

Agencies