Let’s cut to the chase. Homebound is arguably the most deserving film India could have selected for an Oscar run this year.

This Neeraj Ghaywan directorial, starring Ishan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa, offers a mix of modern-day India and the kind of universal storytelling the Academy tends to reward — this gave it an edge over other Indian films in the fray.

Homebound tells the story of two best friends from a small town in northern India — Chandan (Vishal Jethwa), a Dalit, and Shoaib (Ishaan Khatter), a Muslim. They are bound by a shared dream: securing stable government jobs as police trainees. That uniform, they believe, will shield them from discrimination based on caste and religion. But bureaucracy keeps them waiting for nearly a year, leaving them to scrape by in whatever work they can find.

Chandan heads to a textile factory a thousand kilometres away in Gujarat, while Shoaib tries his luck in sales, only to run headfirst into anti-Muslim prejudice. Both men cling to hope, share frustrations, and even clash as their friendship strains under pressure. And then the pandemic arrives, forcing them into an exodus that millions of Indians will never forget.

Ghaywan throws viewers into the harshness of reality from the word go.

Sample this: Chandan and Shoaib are sprinting to catch a train to the city, where they’ll sit for police academy entrance exams. Amid the jostling crowds, they meet Sudha. When asked for his name, Chandan hesitates — he knows the weight a surname can carry. Sudha, however, reveals herself to be an Ambedkarite. Chandan takes a sigh of relief and a friendship is born.

As the train arrives on a different platform, the trio join the desperate scramble across the tracks. “Pariksha dene jaa rahe hain ya jung ladne?” Chandan remarks. It summarises Homebound: in India, survival itself often feels like a war.

Ghaywan, with co-writer Sumit Roy and dialogue writers Varun Grover and Shriidhar Dubey, depicts how the system is rigged against the marginalised. If you are Dalit, you are branded a freeloader thriving on reservation. You’re a Muslim? Your employers will not be satisfied just with your Aadhaar, but ask for your parents’ ID, and even a police NOC. Even then, inclusion is conditional.

Visually, Ghaywan and cinematographer Pratik Shah produce images that sear themselves into memory. One shot — a top view of a narrow highway at night where migrant workers are trudgeing along — brings back memories of the pandemic.

The performances elevate the film further. Khatter delivers his finest work yet, making Shoaib relatably human. He is warm, ambitious, yet frustrated, and heartbreakingly vulnerable. Jethwa is equally compelling, his Chandan simmering with pent up anger. Their friendship is so tenderly etched that the heartbreaking climax moves you to tears.

Yes, there are minor flaws — Janhvi Kapoor, as Chandan’s college crush Sudha, feels miscast. Her polished presence is at odds with the grounded world around her. But the heart of the film lies with Chandan and Shoaib, and their story never wavers.

What makes Homebound such a strong Oscar contender is precisely this balance: it is deeply Indian in its specificity — the train platforms, the factory shifts, the casual remarks laced with caste and religious bias — yet it resonates with the universal audience. Migration, systemic discrimination, the desire for dignity: these themes resonate across borders.

A standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival was perhaps a stepping stone in Homebound’s glorious journey ahead.