Homebound in Oscars 2026 shortlist: What it means for Neeraj Ghaywan film, its chances to win the Academy Award, and what comes next?

Oscars 2026: Neeraj Ghaywan's Homebound still has a long way to go in order to secure its place in the top 5 of the Best International Feature category. Here's what happens next at the Academy Awards.

Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa's Homebound has been shortlisted for Oscars.

Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound, starring Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa, has become only the fifth Indian film to make it to the shortlist of the Best International Feature category at the Academy Awards. Chosen as India’s official Oscars entry back in September, it’s traversed a long and tough road of competing with 86 films from around the globe to make it to the top 15 in the shortlist announced on Tuesday.

What the shortlist means

Qualifying for the shortlist is in itself a monumental achievement, particularly in the Best International Feature category. In other categories, only the Academy members relevant to that category are eligible to vote. For instance, only documentary filmmakers are eligible to vote in the best documentary categories.

However, in case of the Best International Feature, an Academy member has to watch all other contenders and then opt in to vote in the category. The competition is also quite huge and diverse, given India’s official Oscars entry competed with each country’s official entry. It’s managed to find a place among Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just An Accident (France) and Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice (South Korea).

Only 4 Indian films made it to the shortlist

As per the official website of the Film Federation of India, there are only four films before Homebound that have made it to the Oscars shortlist. Three of them also made it to the final Best International Feature category (then known as Best Foreign Film category), but didn’t win the Oscar. These include Mehboob Khan’s Mother India (1957), which was also the first time India sent its official entry, at the 30th Academy Awards.

It took 30 years for the second instance, Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay! (1988) at the 60th Academy Awards. Fourteen years later, Ashutosh Gowariker’s 2001 period sports drama Lagaan, starring Aamir Khan, also made it to the final category. The only time, so far, an official entry of India has made it to the shortlist, but not to the main category is Pan Nalin’s 2021 Gujarati coming-of-age film Last Film Show.

Reactions to Homebound’s milestone

Karan Johar, who produced Homebound under his banner Dharma Productions, took to Instagram to share his excitement. “I am not sure I can articulate how proud, elated and over the moon I am with the journey of #HOMEBOUND… all of us @dharmamovies are privileged to have this proud and important film in our filmography,” he wrote, adding, “From Cannes to being on the Oscar shortlist this has been such an overwhelming journey!” Ghaywan also shared the news on his social media handles, writing, “We’re deeply grateful for the extraordinary love and support we’ve received from around the world.”

The road ahead

While it’s itself an achievement to make it to the top 15, it’s an uphill road for Homebound ahead. Given it has some formidable rivals in Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just An Accident (France), Park Chan-Wook’s No Other Choice (South Korea), and Sentimental Value Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value (Norway) in the category. The biggest roadblock in its way is that unlike a South Korea, India has never won an Oscar in the Best International Feature category. Even its last nomination in the category, Lagaan, was over two decades ago.

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In fact, only 10 Indians have won an Oscar so far, with SS Rajamouli’s 2022 Telugu epic fantasy RRR being the only full-length feature film to achieve that feat, that too in the Best Original Song category for “Naatu Naatu”.

Oscar nominations in January

The voting for the Academy members will take place between January 12, 2026 and January 16, 2026, and the final Oscar categories will be announced on January 22, 2026.

Oscars Shortlists

Animated Short Film

Autokar
Butterfly
Cardboard
Éiru
Forevergreen
The Girl Who Cried Pearls
Hurikán
I Died in Irpin
The Night Boots
Playing God
The Quinta’s Ghost
Retirement Plan
The Shyness of Trees
Snow Bear
The Three Sisters

Casting

Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle after Another
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Sirât
Weapons
Wicked: For Good

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Cinematography

Ballad of a Small Player
Bugonia
Die My Love
F1
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
Nouvelle Vague
One Battle after Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Sir
Song Sung Blue
Sound of Falling
Train Dreams
Wicked: For Good

Documentary Feature Film

The Alabama Solution
Apocalypse in the Tropics
Coexistence, My Ass!
Come See Me in the Good Light
Cover-Up
Cutting through Rocks
Folktales
Holding Liat
Mr. Nobody against Putin
Mistress Dispeller
My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 – Last Air in Moscow
The Perfect Neighbor
Seeds
2000 Meters to Andriivka
Yanuni

Documentary Short Film

All the Empty Rooms
All the Walls Came Down
Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud
Bad Hostage
Cashing Out
Chasing Time
Children No More: “Were and Are Gone”
Classroom 4
The Devil Is Busy
Heartbeat
Last Days on Lake Trinity
On Healing Land, Birds Perch
Perfectly a Strangeness
Rovina’s Choice
We Were the Scenery

International Feature Film

Argentina, Belén
Brazil, The Secret Agent
France, It Was Just an Accident
Germany, Sound of Falling
India, Homebound
Iraq, The President’s Cake
Japan, Kokuho
Jordan, All That’s Left of You
Norway, Sentimental Value
Palestine, Palestine 36
South Korea, No Other Choice
Spain, Sirât
Switzerland, Late Shift
Taiwan, Left-Handed Girl
Tunisia, The Voice of Hind Rajab

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Live-action Short Film

Ado
Amarela
Beyond Silence
The Boy with White Skin
Butcher’s Stain
Butterfly on a Wheel
Dad’s Not Home
Extremist
A Friend of Dorothy
Jane Austen’s Period Drama
Pantyhose
The Pearl Comb
Rock, Paper, Scissors
The Singers
Two People Exchanging Saliva

Makeup and Hairstyling

The Alto Knights
Frankenstein
Kokuho
Marty Supreme
Nuremberg
One Battle after Another
Sinners
The Smashing Machine
The Ugly Stepsister
Wicked: For Good

Music (Original Score)

Avatar: Fire and Ash
Bugonia
Captain America: Brave New World
Diane Warren: Relentless
F1
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Hedda
A House of Dynamite
Jay Kelly
Marty Supreme
Nuremberg
One Battle after Another
Sinners
Sirât
Train Dreams
Tron: Ares
Truth and Treason
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Wicked: For Good

Music (Original Song)

“As Alive As You Need Me To Be” from Tron: Ares
“Dear Me” from Diane Warren: Relentless
“Dream As One” from Avatar: Fire and Ash
“Drive” from F1
“Dying To Live” from Billy Idol Should Be Dead
“The Girl In The Bubble” from Wicked: For Good
“Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters
“Highest 2 Lowest” from Highest 2 Lowest
“I Lied To You” from Sinners
“Last Time (I Seen The Sun)” from Sinners
“No Place Like Home” from Wicked: For Good
“Our Love” from The Ballad of Wallis Island
“Salt Then Sour Then Sweet” from Come See Me in the Good Light
“Sweet Dreams Of Joy” from Viva Verdi!
“Train Dreams” from Train Dreams

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Sound

Avatar: Fire and Ash
F1
Frankenstein
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
One Battle after Another
Sinners
Sirât
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Superman
Wicked: For Good

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