Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and director Neeraj Ghaywan attended the press conference of Homebound at a multiplex in Mumbai. The actors spoke about the Oscar honour and also screening the film at 78th Cannes Film Festival as well as 2025 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

Homebound press conference: Ishaan Khatter on the response at Toronto International Film Festival experience: “We felt we were in Gaiety-Galaxy!”; Vishal Jethwa on Aditya Chopra ‘guru mantra’: “He told me, ‘You should surrender yourself to the director’”

Ishaan Khatter said, “Neeraj bhai has made this film in such a way that it can reach out to a large number of people. Some 800-900 people saw the film at Cannes, that too in multiple screenings. Wahan ki audience bahut alag hoti hai. There were critics, film connoisseurs, etc. In TIFF, we screened the film at Roy Thomson Hall. It’s an orchestra theatre. Bada darr lagta hai wahan jaane mein (laughs). 3-3 balconies hoti hai. But the reaction out there was very different (from Cannes). We felt like we were in Gaiety-Galaxy! Chilla chilla ke aur pyaar se hamara swagat hua. Yet the love was the same for the film.”

Vishal Jethwa revealed, “To play this character, I used a ‘guru mantra’ that was told to me by Aditya Chopra sir when I met him for the first time. He told me, ‘You should surrender yourself to the director’. I continue to apply this mantra even today.”

Ishaan praised Neeraj Ghaywan, “Yeh kisi ko bhi apne se neecha nahin samajte. There’s no hierarchy on the set. In fact, he’s the first one to break the hierarchy. There’s no spot dada or light dada. We were told to call them by their name. Everyone had the freedom to approach him and ask him about any doubts. I have seen this myself. If anybody is hesitant, he approaches them and says, ‘What do you think of this scene?’. He knows the maximum about the film he wants. Yet, he listens to everyone. That’s a very rare quality. Everybody is humanised on the set.”

Produced by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, Homebound releases in cinemas on September 26.

Also Read: Homebound press conference: Neeraj Ghaywan opens up on casting: “Many wonder, ‘Why are you casting Janhvi Kapoor for the role of a Dalit?’”; reveals, “On my sets, there are no light dada, spot dada and no hierarchy…50% crew are women”

Tags : Aditya Chopra, Bollywood Features, Features, Gaiety Galaxy, Homebound, Ishaan Khatter, Mumbai, Neeraj Ghaywan, Press Conference, Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Vishal Jethwa

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