Homebound director Neeraj Ghaywan met award-winning filmmaker Payal Kapadia at the ongoing 78th Cannes Film Festival in France recently, he said on Thursday, dropping a photo with the All We Imagine As Light maker.

In the photo, Ghaywan stood out in a striking, red suit while Kapadia opted for a laid-back look in an all-black ensemble. She paired a leather jacket with a shirt and high-waisted trousers.

While Ghaywan attended the screening of his film Homebound at Cannes. Kapadia, on the other hand, is part of a jury led by French actress Juliette Bonoche for the film festival.

“Hanging out with the biggest Indian star at @festivaldecannes - @payalkapadiafilm,” Ghaywan wrote on Instagram alongside the photo.

Reacting to the post, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap wrote, “Do chamakte huye sitaare.” Zoya Akhtar, Huma Qureshi and Tahira Kashyap were among the Bollywood celebrities who reacted with heart emoticons in the comments section.

On Wednesday, Ghaywan’s Homebound, starring Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa, received a nine-minute standing ovation at the festival.

A video shared by production banner Dharma Productions shows producer Karan Johar embracing Ghaywan, who appears visibly emotional following the screening of the film in the Un Certain Regard section of the prestigious international film festival.

Homebound is jointly produced by Martin Scorsese, Karan Johar, Adar Poonawalla, Apoorva Mehta and Somen Mishra, with Marijke de Souza and Melita Toscan du Plantier serving as co-producers.

Un Certain Regard — a category that spotlights daring, innovative films and celebrates promising first-and-second-time filmmakers — served as Ghaywan’s launchpad in 2015 when Masaan earned him the Promising Future Prize and the FIPRESCI Award.

The screening of Homebound comes a year after director Payal Kapadia’s debut feature film, All We Imagine As Light, won the Grand Prix at the 2024 edition of the festival. Kolkata-born actress Anasuya Sengupta scripted history by bagging the best actress award in the Un Certain Regard section for The Shameless last year.

This year’s Un Certain Regard slate is brimming with star-studded entries, including Scarlett Johansson’s Eleanor the Great and Francesco Sossai's The Last One For The Road.

The 78th annual Cannes Film festival, currently underway in Southern France, is set to conclude on May 24.