Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound has bagged the second runner-up trophy in People’s Choice International category at Toronto International Film Festival, the filmmaker announced on Sunday.

“Thrilled to announce that our film #Homebound just won the @TIFF_NET International People’s Choice Award as a second runner-up!! In the company of Park Chan Wook and Joachim Trier! Phew,” Ghaywan 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 police job. But as they edge closer to their dream, desperation and personal conflict begin to test the strength of their bond.

The film’s story was inspired by an essay, Taking Amrit Home (now retitled A Friendship, a Pandemic and a Death Beside the Highway), by Kashmiri journalist Basharat Peer. It was published in the New York Times in 2020.

It recounts the story of two young migrant workers who get stranded in Surat during the Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020.

Homebound had its world premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival under the Un Certain Regard category in May. 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 received a nine-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival. Also, it has won two awards for best film and best director at the International Film Festival of Melbourne.

Legendary Hollywood filmmaker Martin Scorsese serves as the executive producer for the film jointly produced by Dharma Productions and Sikhya Entertainment.

Homebound is scheduled to release theatrically on September 26 worldwide.