FFI Chairman reacts to Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa & Neeraj Ghaywan's Homebound Oscar selection controversy: 'The rules and legalities have been...'

Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor starrer Homebound, which is directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, was recently announced as India’s official entry for the Oscars. While the film is yet to be released, it has garnered rave reviews from critics across the country.

However, its Oscar selection has grabbed headlines as a film must secure a theatrical release and run for at least seven consecutive days within the eligibility window of October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025, as per Academy rules. And since Homebound is scheduled to release this week, it technically misses the cut-off.

However, FFI Chairman Firdausul Hasan cleared the air and said that the ‘rules and legalities have been duly followed’. “The film needs to be released in cinema halls before September 30, which it is doing. As for the run for seven consecutive days in at least one theatre, the makers have signed an undertaking that they will ensure the film is screened in a cinema hall for a week. The rules and legalities have been duly followed, and only then was ‘Homebound’ entered into the list of films that the jury watched.” he told India Today.

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Other Indian films, which were in contention include,  ‘I Want to Talk’, ‘Tanvi The Great’, ‘The Bengal Files’, ‘Pushpa 2: ‘The Rule’, ‘Kesari Chapter 2’, ‘Superboys of Malegaon’, ‘Sthal’, ‘Kannappa’, ‘Meta The Dazzling Girl’, ‘Sabar Bonda’, ‘Dashavatar’, ‘Vanvaas’, ‘Paani’, ‘Gandhi Tatha Chettu’, ‘Aata Thambaycha Naay’, ‘Kuberaa’, ‘Boong’, ‘Sankranthi Vasthunaam’, ‘Humans in the Loop’, ‘Jugnuma’, ‘Phule’, ‘Veera Chandraharsa’ and ‘Pyre’.

Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound is based on a real-life story first told in a New York Times op-ed during India’s COVID-19 lockdown. The film revolves around the friendship of the two boys, Shoaib (Ishaan Khatter) and Chandan (Vishal Jethwa).

The film is locking horns with One Battle After Another and They Call Him OG at the box office.