Homebound Makes Oscars Shortlist, India Eyes Historic Fourth Nomination
Neeraj Ghaywan's film Homebound has achieved a significant milestone. Without any major domestic theatrical release and propelled primarily by international recognition, the film has secured a place on the Academy's shortlist for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Oscars.
India now watches with anticipation. The nation waits to see if Homebound will become the fourth Indian film ever nominated in this prestigious category. It would join the legendary trio of Mother India (1958), Salaam Bombay! (1989), and Lagaan (2002).
The film's overseas momentum, which began with its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2025, offers genuine hope. This trajectory reinforces a well-known idea in Hollywood: international acclaim often becomes the essential currency for a successful Oscar campaign.
With final nominations scheduled for announcement on January 22, we explore how this category functions. We also examine why India's long and determined pursuit of the coveted golden statuette has so often ended in disappointment.
What Makes a Film Eligible for the International Feature Category?
The Academy sets specific rules for eligibility. Each country can submit only one film through an officially approved national selection committee. Filmmakers cannot submit their work independently.
- The film must have a commercial theatrical run in its country of origin. It needs to be publicly exhibited for paid admission for at least seven consecutive days.
- The qualifying release window for the 98th Academy Awards ran from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025.
- Notably, the film does not require a release in the United States.
- More than half of the dialogue must be in a language other than English. The film must also include legible English subtitles.
- The submitting country must confirm that key creative contributors—including the director, cast, and crew—are citizens, residents, or hold refugee or asylum status in that nation.
How the Selection and Nomination Process Works
Once a country's committee submits its official entry, Academy administrators first verify that all eligibility criteria are met. Following this due diligence, the International Feature Film Committee oversees a two-round nomination process.
Preliminary Round: Academy members who volunteer for the process are invited to watch all eligible submissions. Each participating member must view a minimum number of films, as defined by the Academy. They then vote by secret ballot for up to 15 films. The 15 films receiving the highest votes advance to the shortlist stage.
Nominations Round: All active and life members of the Academy are invited to view the 15 shortlisted films. To have their votes counted, members must watch all 15 films. Each member then votes, ranking up to five films in order of preference. The five films with the highest votes become the final nominees.
Final Voting: The winner is chosen through final voting among all active and life members who have watched all five nominated films.
In a 2024 interview, actor-producer Aamir Khan highlighted the importance of campaign hype. He noted that separate Academy committees handle International Films and Documentaries. "The catch is that they commit to watching 80% of the films assigned to them," Khan explained. "We have to ensure that we get them to watch our film." He argued that if rules mandated committee members to watch all films, filmmakers would not need to spend heavily on campaigns.
A Brief History of the Category
The Academy first recognized foreign-language films in 1947, but in a non-competitive, sporadic manner. The first such honor went to the French film Monsieur Vincent in 1948.
The competitive category, originally named Best Foreign Language Film, was introduced in 1956. The first winner was Federico Fellini's La Strada.
In a significant move, the Academy renamed the category to Best International Feature Film in April 2019. The subcommittee stated the change aimed to replace the outdated term "Foreign" with "International," promoting a more positive and inclusive view of global filmmaking.
According to the Academy, an international feature is a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States with a predominantly non-English dialogue track. Submitted films can be live-action narratives, animated features, or documentaries.
India's Long and Elusive Oscar Journey
Indians have won 10 Oscars throughout history when counting technical awards. However, in the Best International Feature Film category, India's rich cinema tradition has yielded only three nominations and zero wins.
Mother India (1958): Submitted as India's first official entry just a year after the category's creation, Mehboob Khan's epic lost to the Italian film Nights of Cabiria by a single vote.
Salaam Bombay! (1988): Mira Nair's powerful drama earned a nomination in 1989. Though it did not win the Oscar, it secured major international accolades, including the Caméra d'Or at Cannes. Nair has often said, "The audience is my Oscars."
Lagaan (2002): Aamir Khan's cricket saga, directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, scored a nomination in 2002. Khan stated the biggest campaign task was ensuring committee members watched the film. The campaign succeeded in securing the nomination and significantly widened the film's global reach.
Controversial Choices in India's Oscar Selections
India's Oscar selection process has frequently sparked debate. Critics argue it often favors locally popular or politically safe films over those with stronger international acclaim.
In 1960, the Film Federation of India (FFI) chose not to submit the now-legendary Mughal-e-Azam. This pattern has repeated over decades.
- Jeans (1998) was picked over Dil Se and Satya.
- Paheli (2005) was selected over Swades and Black.
- Eklavya (2007) was chosen over Dharm, despite Dharm's success at Cannes. Director Bhavna Talwar even challenged the decision in the Bombay High Court.
In 2013, a major controversy erupted when Ritesh Batra's globally acclaimed The Lunchbox was snubbed in favor of The Good Road. More recently, in 2022, the global phenomenon RRR had to seek an independent submission after FFI selected Last Film Show.
In 2024, Kiran Rao's Laapataa Ladies was preferred over Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light, which had won the Grand Prix at Cannes.
Three-time Grammy winner Ricky Kej expressed a common frustration: "We live in a 'mainstream Bollywood' bubble. We should look for great artistic cinema – star or no star, big or small – that's uncompromising in its vision."
Simply being named India's official entry is never enough. Producers and filmmakers must invest in advertising within trade publications, fund publicity campaigns, organize screenings, and work tirelessly to ensure their film gets noticed. A global jury naturally leans towards titles that already possess visibility and buzz.
As the world awaits the January nominations, all eyes are on Homebound. Can Neeraj Ghaywan's film break the pattern and secure India's fourth nomination, and perhaps its first win?
