‘These characters have huge spirits and they are fighting something that is much bigger than them.’
‘The attempt was to portray how they navigate their lives, to retain that spirit and not let it die.’
IMAGE: Vishal Jethwa, Janhvi Kapoor and Ishaan Khatter at Cannes. Photograph: Kind courtesy Ishaan Khatter/Instagram
Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa were at different points in their careers when Director Neeraj Ghaywan (Masaan) picked them for what could be the roles of their lifetime.
In Ghaywan’s new film Homebound, Khatter and Jethwa play childhood friends Shoaib and Chandan, a Muslim and a Dalit, who grow up in a small village in Uttar Pradesh. Despite their status in life, the two dream of breaking out of the restrictions imposed on them by society by joining the state’s police force.
Homebound — inspired by real characters whose lives were documented in Basharat Peer’s New York Times article — premiered at the Cannes film festival, where the actors, along with Janhvi Kapoor in a supporting role, made their debut.
In the film, the two friends eventually land jobs in Surat but in the wake of the nationwide lockdown, following the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic, are forced to leave town and travel a long distance, mostly by foot, to their village.
Homebound is produced by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions with Martin Scorsese lending his name as the executive producer.
Aseem Chhabra spoke to the two young actors after the world premiere of Homebound.
Ishaan and Vishal, you have acted in many films. Actors can do anything but in the film, both of you bring out that friendship quality so convincingly. Did you know each other from before?
Ishaan: Only socially.
Vishal: We met in July and August 2024, and started filming in September 2024.
Ishaan: Vishal and I read together in July. Once everything was locked, Neeraj insisted we spend one-on-one time together. He wanted us to develop the spirit of this friendship. He also said, ‘I want you to be vulnerable with each other, share things from the past, and not just the happy stuff.’
Did you guys go out drinking?
Ishaan: Quite the opposite. I don’t even drink. Vishal at that time had injured his leg; he had met with an accident and was in a cast. I also had a ligament tear. Since we were both injured, we decided ‘Let’s not go anywhere, hum ghar par hee milenge.’
The first time we met, we spoke for about five hours. We got pretty close and comfortable.
After that, Neeraj broke the ice, doing workshops, improvising situations, which brought us close to the characters. He was also working with us individually to finding our characters. So it was a combination of developing our chemistries and working that into the characters he had built.
What really made us connect with the characters was the trip we took to UP and some of the villages where we spent about six days meeting people.
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IMAGE: Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa in Homebound.
Vishal, what did you learn about Ishaan after spending five hours together the first time?
Vishal: We were able to learn some secrets about each other and our thinking process. Within a day, we were joking with each other, giving high-fives. That was needed for the characters in the film. We couldn’t fake the friendship on screen.
We had to have this connection, to bring it to the audience and show it on screen. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have looked truthful.
Also, as I have said earlier too, he’s a great person, a great personality. He’s open to everything, open to listening to you without judging you. He’s like a go-to-friend for me. He knows me well now. We are that comfortable. Humne to ek doosre ke saath narazgi bhi kar li.
Ishaan, what did you discover about Vishal?
Ishaan: I think he’s someone who’s very emotional, sensitive, and feels strongly about things.
But there was a curiosity in him to understand the film, its depths, and to understand Neeraj’s voice. I saw him every day on set, pushing himself to be open, and imbibe all that he can and grow.
It was fun to have a partner who would come with a level of investment that was high and all in. In every sense, he’s been my bouncing ball.
IMAGE: Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa in Homebound.
Vishal you are one year older than Ishaan.
Vishal: Yes, I am 31.
I mentioned your ages because both of you have tough roles; tough to play for somebody of your ages, as I am sure you guys have not had such difficult experiences in life.
Ishaan: Our job was to create empathy. Of course, imagination is big to me but our work was to try and bring ourselves as close to the characters as possible, try and understand them as best as we could.
These boys were 22-23, and they had lived this life.
This is not an easy subject to even talk about.
I think, at least for me, I didn’t want this film and its tone to feel self-pitying. I wanted you to see the resilience and the spirit of these characters.
From the very beginning, my character Shoaib strikes you as an optimist. He feels empowered despite the odds.
Then when you start seeing the cracks in his inner world, it really breaks your heart. These characters have huge spirits and they are fighting something that is much bigger than them. The attempt was to portray how they navigate their lives, to retain that spirit and not let it die.
Yes, it was emotionally draining. It was definitely physically challenging because there would be long days of some really hard scenes, and at least in my case, as I am not an in-and-out type of actor.
I can’t switch on and switch off.
Also, we were persuaded by Neeraj to stay immersed. So it was difficult but also a pleasure because everything on this set supported the work we were trying to do.
Vishal: Yes, we are young but in my case, if you look at Chandan’s journey, I was not that privileged in my teenage years. Now I sleep in a room with an AC and have a car. But I have also seen the kind of life that Chandan had.
IMAGE: Vishal Jethwa with Janhvi Kapoor at Cannes. Photograph: Kind courtesy Vishal Jethwa/Instagram
What do your parents do?
Vishal: My father passed away when I was 13 and my mother raised us single-handedly. So I have a sense of poverty and struggle, coming from a lower middle-class family. I became mature early on. I saw a lot and am able to use many of these experiences in my film work.
I know I can never fully experience what these characters go through but we do understand the world of Chandan and Shoaib.
Physically, it was also challenging for me. I lost nearly 10 kilos during the making of the film.
Ishaan: We had to look as normal, as invisible as possible.
IMAGE: Ishaan Khatter, Janhvi Kapoor, Vishal Jethwa, Neeraj Ghaywan, Karan Johar, Dharma CEO Apoorva Mehta in Cannes. Photograph: Kind courtesy Ishaan Khatter/Instagram
The film was well received; the nine-minute standing ovation was amazing. What did it feel like for both of you? Then, when you guys hugged each other. The tears and smiles. Do you remember what was happening at that moment?
Vishal: It was an amazing experience.
I feel we are blessed because there are better hard-working actors than us. And it was special that my mother could be there with me and there were so many stars present. It was the biggest day in my career.
Ishaan: I have always aspired to do a certain calibre of work but there are some films that go beyond just working for you. Also, having watched Neeraj’s previous works and knowing his voice as a filmmaker, I aligned with this very strongly.
I think it’s a deeply humanist film, very sensitive.
It’s not a film that tries to indict or point fingers or add to the problem but rather, it tries to hold the audience’s hand and show them a perspective that perhaps they’re not privy to. Perhaps it could spark a change and empathy through that.
I am extremely proud of this film. Neeraj worked very hard on it. He spent three years more than any of us writing this film. And we were an integral part of the process with him.
I think he was devoted to telling this story in as honest a way as possible, and it shows on screen.
Mira Nair, who directed you in A Suitable Boy, was in the audience. Did you hear from her, Ishaan?
Ishaan: Yes. She sat next to my mom. At the end, she put her head in my mom’s lap. And my mom was like, ‘I was in no state to console anyone.’
