Ishaan Khatter kicks off 2026 with an Oscar campaign trip to the US for Homebound promotions

ishaan khatter about homebound

• Ishaan Khatter promotes Homebound in the US ahead of Oscar nominations
• Homebound shortlisted for Best International Feature at the 98th Academy Awards
• The film, starring Janhvi Kapoor and Vishal Jethwa, was acclaimed at Cannes 2025.

Did our AI summary help?

Bollywood actor Ishaan Khatter has begun the new year on a major career high, jetting off to the United States to kick off promotional activities for his internationally acclaimed film Homebound, which has been shortlisted for the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards.

Directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, Homebound — starring Ishaan alongside Janhvi Kapoor and Vishal Jethwa — released theatrically in India on September 26, 2025. The film has since enjoyed widespread acclaim on the global festival circuit, including a celebrated premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and a standing ovation that marked one of the year’s standout international responses.

With the official Oscar nominations set to be announced on January 22, 2026, Ishaan is personally engaging in promotional efforts aimed at Academy voters and international audiences as part of the film’s Oscar push. The actor’s US trip coincides with industry events and screenings designed to position Homebound as a contender for a nomination — a rare achievement for Indian cinema on the world’s most prestigious awards stage.

At the NDTV World Summit 2025 session, Ishaan Khatter said, "I have an aching suspicion that I might throw my jacket and run into a wall."

Further, sharing the reactions the film received at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, Ishaan said, "This is a film that is extremely special to me, and at the risk of sounding shameless, I'm thankful to everyone who has championed it. It's a rare kind of film, very humane, and I'm very proud of it. It's been surreal, a milestone to be sitting in an audience like that at Cannes - it's overwhelming, understandably; time was warped for me; it was all very surreal."

Also read: Ishaan Khatter says “Men are not taught to be men, just taught not to be women’

The story of Homebound centres on intense emotional bonds and conflicts within a fractured family, unfolding during a crisis that forces characters to confront unspoken truths. Such grounded storytelling has helped the film stand out internationally, balancing universal themes with uniquely Indian contexts.