At the NDTV Indian of the Year 2025, held on December 19, Neeraj Ghaywan was awarded the Director of the Year award.
Filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan's latest release, Homebound, has won major accolades, receiving much praise from fans across the globe this year.
Neeraj Ghaywan On A Movie That Has Inspired Him
The director said, "Ijaazat is a film that I really enjoy. I mean, I see it every two years, months. And Janhvi's character, Sudha, is actually inspired from Ijaazat's character of Rekha, who's also named Sudha, and she has the same strength as Sudha. So, yeah, that's the connection again. Gulzar Sahab is always an inspiration."
Neeraj Ghaywan On A Special Memory From Homebound
Speaking of his most memorable journey with Homebound and it travelling the world, Neeraj Ghaywan shared, "It's a small moment, actually. We were shooting in a village which was 2-2 and a half hours away, and it was the last day, and it was in that one house, it started to rain. And for a moment I was nervous because it's the last day and we had some eight scenes. And suddenly I saw most of my like 7-8 members of the crew, they found this large umbrella, they stood in the rain and started singing. And I thought that there's no reason to worry. And I saw the love and camaraderie between the team and that inspired me to instantly think that why am I serious? I instantly made a plan how to shoot. In a couple of things, and I've been brought in the day, so I think team spirit can inspire you sometimes."
Furthermore, the director spoke about how cinema or any form of art can bring change, "I think cinema can only ask questions. It can pose like a mirror, but cinema cannot offer solutions. It is only for us to introspect and to find our own answers, and that's what I have been trying to do with my own work is just to be able to tell stories of people that are often not spoken in mainstream spaces and they don't inhabit mainstream spaces, so I'm just giving them the platform and humanising them instead of always talking about them in statistics."
On The Boldest Idea For India's Future
Neeraj Ghaywan shared, "India's future, when we move beyond the 15% of the population that is represented everywhere in mainstream spaces, in media, judiciary, and in academia. When the monopoly ends and we see that there's a fair representation according to the population everywhere, that will be the great India."
Neeraj Ghaywan's Journey From Masaan To Homebound
Reflecting on his journey from Masaan to Homebound, Neeraj Ghaywan feels that the soul of India remains unchanged. "From Masaan to Homebound, I would say India is still the same. I still feel the same pride in our country and in our people."
He explains why he continues to return to stories that exist on the margins, saying, "We are telling stories that are usually ignored-stories people don't want to tell. We convince ourselves that only certain stories matter, but that's not true."
International Acclaim
Homebound had its world premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section on May 21 before travelling to the 50th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) this year. Neeraj Ghaywan's Homebound not only earned a standing ovation but also secured the second runner-up position for the coveted International People's Choice Award.
Homebound was also the closing film for the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) 2025, with its final screening on August 24, 2025. Recently, the film was also shortlisted for the prestigious 98th Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category. The 98th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 15, 2026. The film was released in India on September 25, 2025.
Homebound Being Shortlisted For Oscars
Talking about Homebound being shortlisted for the Oscars 2026, the director said, "It is a matter of great pride, and also a huge responsibility. I will work very hard for it. But I don't want to place expectations on it. I believe that whatever is meant to happen will happen. All I want to do is keep working honestly and take my country forward."
He emphasised why stories of displacement and loss had to be told. "It was important to tell these stories because we are slowly forgetting them. We act as if such lives don't exist. It was important to acknowledge the pain of people who walked miles to return home, to recognise their suffering."
About NDTV Indian Of The Year
Continuing its tradition of honouring excellence as part of Indian of the Year, NDTV undertook an exhaustive selection process to recognise outstanding Indians across 14 diverse categories-spanning business leadership, innovation, philanthropy, governance, sports, entertainment, culture, and science.
