Homebound: Friendship and hardship in IndiaCEFR B1
10 Jan 2026
Adapted from Abhimanyu Bandyopadhyay, Global Voices • CC BY 3.0
Photo by Indrajit Rana, Unsplash
Homebound is directed by Neeraj Ghaywan and draws on a widely discussed New York Times report by Basharat Peer from 2020. Ghaywan is the director of Masaan (2006), and his new film follows ordinary lives under pressure.
The narrative begins at night with two young men travelling by truck to sit an exam for police constable posts. Chandan and Shoaib are childhood friends from a remote village. Their lives are shaped by caste, religion and class: Chandan is Dalit and Shoaib is Muslim.
When the results come, Chandan clears the police exam but Shoaib does not. Shoaib then sells water filters and suffers daily humiliations, with customers refusing water he touched and colleagues making jokes about Pakistan. Chandan refuses the caste reservation and competes in the General category. The film treats these events as routine rather than exceptional.
Gender discrimination appears too: Chandan’s sister is denied college so the family can prioritise the boy. Visual motifs such as cracked heels and a crippled leg underline a generational burden. Performances by Vishal Jethwa and Ishaan Khatter anchor the film, and it was shortlisted for an Oscar (2026).
Difficult words
- narrative — A story or sequence of events in writing.
- remote — Far away from towns or people.
- caste — A social system dividing people by group.
- reservation — A policy giving places to disadvantaged groups.
- humiliation — Feeling strong shame or public embarrassment.humiliations
- motif — A repeated image or idea in art.motifs
- shortlist — To name as a final candidate for an award.shortlisted
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- How do you think caste, religion and class affect opportunities for young people in small villages? Give one example.
- The article mentions visual motifs like cracked heels. How can small images or details help tell a story in a film?
- Do you think films should show everyday discrimination as routine or should they highlight it as a big problem? Explain your view.
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