In 2010, Indian filmmaker Neeraj Gheywan made his debut at the Cannes Film Festival with the film Masaan. Set in Banaras, this film is a story of love, sorrow, and a life caught in the clutches of the caste system.

The lead role in this film was played by actor Vicky Kaushal. In this film, he played the role of a person who belongs to the so-called lower caste in the caste system, whose family works to cremate dead bodies on the banks of the Ganges.

Masaan was shown in the 'Un Certain Regard' category at the Cannes Film Festival. This category includes films that tell different and new kinds of stories.

This film won the Promising Future Prize.

Five years ago, during the Covid pandemic, Gheywan's friend Somen Mishra advised him to read an article titled 'Taking Amrit Home' published in the New York Times. This article was written by journalist Basharat Peer. Somen Mishra is the head of creative development at Dharma Productions in Mumbai.

This article told how during the lockdown, lakhs of people, who had no means of transport, were returning to their villages by walking hundreds and thousands of kilometres. But the most special thing about this article to Neeraj was the childhood friendship between a Muslim and a Dalit boy shown in it.

This article became the inspiration for his new film 'Homebound'.

The film was screened in the 'Un Certain Regard' section of the Cannes Film Festival this week and after its premiere, the audience stood up and applauded the film for nine minutes.

How Martin Scorsese became a part of the film 'Homebound'

After watching the film, many people sitting in the audience had tears in their eyes.

Neeraj Gheywan hugged the film's main producer Karan Johar. The film's actors Ishaan Khattar, Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor, who were present there, also hugged them both.

This was the biggest South Asian event at the Cannes Film Festival 2025, so many famous film personalities also came to watch this film.

This film also received support that no one had expected.

Its main producer is Karan Johar, who is one of the biggest film producers of India and has made many hit films like 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham' and 'Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani'.

But last month, famous Hollywood filmmaker Martin Scorsese joined the film as an executive producer. He was told about this film by Melita Toscan du Plantier, the French producer of the film 'Homebound'.

This is the first time Scorsese has backed a contemporary Indian film project. Until now he has only helped restore old Indian films.

Last month, Scorsese said in his statement, "I saw Neeraj's first film Masaan in 2015 and I loved it. When Melita Toscan du Plantier sent me the project of his new film, I was very excited."

"I really liked the story. I wanted to help in this work. Neeraj has made a beautiful film, which is very important for Indian cinema."

Neeraj Gheywan says that Scorsese helped him in making his film. He guided and advised the team several times during the editing process of the film.

Scorsese also attempted to understand the film's story and its social context.

'It is important to show stories, not just figures'

It was very important for Neeraj Gheywan to correctly portray the emotion and truth of the issue raised in the film.

The two main characters of the film, Mohammed Shoaib Ali (Ishaan Khattar) and Chandan Kumar (Vishal Jethwa), both come from backgrounds that have faced discrimination at the hands of the so-called upper castes of society for centuries.

But both of them dream of overcoming these social barriers. In the film, both of them try to create a new identity by joining the police force of their state.

Neeraj Ghevan also told that he himself belongs to a Dalit family. This identity has been an important part of his life and has been influencing him since childhood.

Growing up, he studied business administration and then took up a corporate job in Gurugram near Delhi.

He says that he never faced direct discrimination, but he always realised where he stood in society.

Even today he feels the burden of the identity that is associated with his birth.

He says, "I am the only person in the entire history of the Hindi film industry who comes from the Dalit community and who is both behind the camera and in front of it. This is the real difference in which we all are living."

Neeraj Gheywan says that most of the population of India lives in villages, but village stories are rarely shown in Hindi films.

They are also troubled by the fact that marginalised communities are talked about only as statistics.

He says, "If we know the story of just one person among those figures, what happened in his life, how he reached here, then perhaps we can understand a lot.

"I thought this was the story worth telling."

A film that touches the depth of human relationships

When Neeraj Gheywan started writing the script of the film, he started imagining the life of both the characters before Covid.

Neeraj Gheywan spent his childhood in Hyderabad and his friend Asghar was from the Muslim community. So he felt a deep connection with the experiences of Ali and Kumar.

He says, "What touched me the most was the humanity behind this relationship, the depth of the bond and the inner layers of that relationship."

This took him back to his own childhood memories.

Gheywan's directorial venture 'Homebound' has the softness of the mild winter sunshine.

This film has been beautifully shot in the rural areas of North India, in detail the daily struggles and small joys of the Muslim and Dalit characters have been depicted.

Their relationships, conversations and experiences with both the male characters as well as a woman (played by Janhvi Kapoor) make the audience think. Both Janhvi Kapoor and Vishal Jethwa are playing Dalit characters.

Most of the time, Gheywan's script keeps the audience engaged.

In the year 2019, no one had any idea how big the Covid pandemic was going to be.

But this film very sensitively signals that change and shows how any crisis does not see caste, class or religion. It affects everyone.

'Homebound' is a blend of fiction and reality that becomes an important document showing the truth of society.

This film is not only emotional but also thought-provoking and it is hoped that it will give rise to a new understanding about people living on the margins of society.