Janhvi Kapoor has been 'heavily trolled,' Neeraj Ghaywan feels Homebound will change people's perception

Director Neeraj Ghaywan and cast members Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, Janhvi Kapoor and producer Karan Johar pose during a photocall for the film "Homebound" in competition for the category Un Certain Regard at the 78th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes. (Photo: Reuters)

Actress Janhvi Kapoor, along with cast members Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa, attended the premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section.

The team received a 9-minute-long standing ovation from the audience at the theater. Director Neeraj Ghaywan got emotional at the screening and was seen getting a hug from producer Karan Johar.

Now in an interview with Variety, Neeraj spoke about casting Janhvi Kapoor in Homebound and said that she had been 'heavily trolled,' but this film will change the audience's viewpoint.

Talking about Janhvi's role in Homebound, Neeraj stated, “She’s been maligned publicly and heavily trolled, but when people see this film and her true potential, they’ll wake up to see she’s really made of something else. I gave her [Bhimrao Ramji] Ambedkar’s Annihilation of Caste to read, and she went into a rabbit hole of trying to understand the glaring differences that we live with together.”

Janhvi Kapoor at Cannes. (Photo: Reuters)

In the same interview, producer Karan Johar stated that Janhvi had a 10-day workshop with Neeraj for the film, which meant a lot to her.

Also Read: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan shares pics in Ivory saree featuring real gold and silver zardozi embroidery and sporting sindoor at Cannes 2025

He stated, "She felt she was in 10 days of therapy with Neeraj, and she felt healed as a result. Even now, she says those seven or eight days spent on the sets of Homebound will be her best days spent on a film set. She felt she wasn’t really acting but going through some sort of personal catharsis.”

Homebound also stars Vishal Jethwa and Ishaan Khatter.

Homebound is about two childhood friends from a small North Indian village who pursue a police job that promises them the dignity they've long been denied.

But as they grow closer to their dream, rising desperation threatens the link that keeps them together.

Karan Johar, Adar Poonawalla, Apoorva Mehta, and Somen Mishra are the film's producers. Marijke de Souza and Melita Toscan Du Plantier serve as co-producers.