Karan Johar calls expensive Oscar campaign for Homebound a ‘bottomless pit’: ‘Don’t know the end result’

Speaking further about Homebound and how Adar was not bothered about the money spent on the film’s Oscar campaign, Karan explained that they viewed it as an opportunity rather than a financial gamble. “We were doing Homebound. I told him that doing an Oscar campaign will cost money and sometimes it is an bottomless pit. Because you don’t know what the end result will be, and whether you will even make to the shortlist of 15 and then 5. It is an uphill task.”

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He added, “You have to employ publicists and travel and make noise and do media abroad and screenings abroad. But Adar said Karan, this is a great opportunity and a great film, let’s do everything in our capacity. Let’s not think of profit and loss on this one. Let’s think of passion over any monetary benefit. That’s what we did. It is not a money making exercise for us. It is about credibility, we will do other films for survival, but Homebound was always a passion project. There is no monetary game in that film.”

Homebound is based on the lives of two migrant workers and their desperate journey home during the Covid-19 lockdown. The film stars Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa in the lead roles and also features Janhvi Kapoor in a pivotal role.

How much does an Oscar campaign cost?

An official entry gets a sum of Rs 1 crore for its Oscar campaigning from the Indian government. However, this figure is pointless given the scale of an average Oscar campaign. For instance, Sean Baker’s Anora, which won the Best Feature Film at Oscars 2025, spent a whopping $18 million (Rs 160 crore) on its campaign