Neeraj Ghaywan’s recent film, Homebound, premiered at the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes Film Festival 2025. Its heartfelt tale of navigating friendship and ambitions while trying to cope with the social dynamics, has won the hearts of global cinema lovers at the international stage of Cannes. The film received a nine-minute long standing ovation and made the country proud. However, people are shocked to find out that the film was produced by Karan Johar since he is primarily known for his commercial films. But there is a special reason why KJo came on board for Homebound. Read on to know more.
Neeraj Ghaywan saw Karan Johar’s kindness and wanted to work with him
Neeraj Ghaywan had directed the short film, Geeli Pucchi, which was part of the film anthology Ajeeb Daastaans, produced by Karan Johar’s Dharmatic Entertainment. Even though both of them come from two very different film genres, with Neeraj making feature films and KJo more inclined towards commercial films, the duo worked well together in their first venture together. In an interview with Cinema Express before the premiere of Homebound at Cannes, Neeraj Ghaywan was asked what brought him and Karan together. The director replied:
“Contrary to this popular perception about an independent filmmaker like me going to Karan Johar from the commercial world, and this questioning whether I am trying to be disruptive. No, it has genuinely come from a place of wanting to work with people that you can trust. I want to work with people who have kindness. The entire crew has to follow this basic tenet of being kind. I found it in Karan while doing Geeli Pucchi. I believe that if I were to make Homebound again, I’d still make it with Karan, because he has that sensibility.”
Neeraj Ghaywan further stated the helping hand that producer, Karan Johar had given to him while making the film. Reportedly, the film producer read the script multiple times and empowered him through the filmmaking journey. The Homebound director stated that even if his and KJo’s tastes in cinema are different, they have connected at a human level. Both of them carry the same kindness and empathy for people, stated Neeraj.
Karan Johar wanted to produce any film that Neeraj Ghaywan was making
In the same interview with Cinema Express, Karan Johar revealed what made him get on board and produce Homebound. The producer said that Neeraj Ghaywan making the film was a good enough reason for him. KJo said that if instead of Homebound, the director had come to him with any other script, he would still have backed the film. The Dharma producer also expressed that he has always been slotted into a certain genre of film and would not be able to take that label off. However, talking about his admiration for Neeraj Ghaywan and the reason he got on board, Karan said:
“He had me at Neeraj. It was literally like Neeraj is doing something, I want to produce it. I was blown away by his debut feature Masaan. I had the opportunity of seeing it right after it burst open at Cannes and met with critical acclaim and success, and I absolutely loved it.”
Neeraj Ghaywan and Karan Johar were supposed to work on a biopic which did not pan out
For a long time, Neeraj Ghaywan and Karan Johar had been trying to work on a film together. After their short but successful stint with Ajeeb Daastaans, they were trying to make a biopic. However, the film did not shape up the way the duo wanted it to. So, when Karan Johar agreed to produce the film, Neeraj was happy to work with the producer again. As Homebound‘s most important theme is friendship, the director said that his friendship with Karan Johar also blossomed during the making of the film. Talking about the main theme of Homebound, Karan Johar said:
“Beyond all the layers and sublayers that Homebound has, and it has them in abundance, at its heart, it’s a film about two friends, their ups and downs, their struggles, their trials, their tribulations, and eventually their last journey, which I don’t want to say anything about and give you no spoilers.”
What are your thoughts on Karan Johar producing the film, Homebound?
Also Read: Neeraj Ghaywan’s Cannes Journey Of 10 Years: From Masaan To Homebound, 2 Films Made India Proud