After earning a nine-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound has bagged two awards for best film and best director at the International Film Festival of Melbourne, production banner Dharma Productions said on Friday.
“Taking back home a ton of love. #Homebound bags two awards: Best Film & Best Director (@ghaywan) at the IFFM 2025,” the official handle of the production house wrote on X.
Starring Ishaan Khatter, Janhvi Kapoor, and Vishal Jethwa, Homebound follows the journey of two childhood friends in a North Indian village, striving to land a government police job. But as they edge closer to their dream, desperation and personal conflict begin to test the strength of their bond.
Legendary Hollywood filmmaker Martin Scorsese serves as the executive producer for the film jointly produced by Dharma Productions and Sikhya Entertainment.
Homebound had its world premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival under the Un Certain Regard category last month. It is Ghaywan's second directorial after 2015’s Masaan, which also premiered in the same section at Cannes and won two awards.
The film will also be screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in the Gala Presentations category in September.
Angammal was named Best Indie Film at IFFM 2025, while Geetha Kailasam won Best Actor (Female) – Film for her role in it. Abhishek Bachchan took home Best Actor (Male) – Film for I Want to Talk, with a Special Mention going to Gugun Kigpen for Boong.
In the series category, Black Warrant won Best Series, with Jaideep Ahlawat (Paatal Lok Season 2) and Nimisha Sajayan (Dabba Cartel) awarded Best Actor (Male) and Best Actor (Female) – Series respectively.
Among the special honours, Aamir Khan won the Excellence in Cinema Award, Arvind Swamy received Leadership in Cinema, Vir Das was named Disruptor, Aditi Rao Hydari won for Diversity in Cinema, and Baksho Bondi was recognised for promoting Equality in Cinema.
