Homebound Actor Ishaan Khatter Says It 'Doesn’t Trivialise Male Friendships', Decodes What Made Men Cry | EXCLUSIVE

Homebound, India’s official selection for the 98th Academy Awards, was recently shortlisted in the Best International Feature Film category. Actor Ishaan Khatter, who plays the lead, believes it’s the beautiful

story of friendship that helped the film resonate both at home and abroad. He emphasised how it thoughtfully portrays male friendships without trivialising them. Khatter also praised director Neeraj Ghaywan, whose vision brought the friendship to life so beautifully. According to him, this rare depiction of genuine male bonding, layered with vulnerability and unspoken emotions, is something audiences haven’t seen on screen in years.'Homebound Doesn’t Trivialise Male Friendships'During Zoom’s Best Performance Male 2025 roundtable, he said, "I think everyone has mentioned this after watching the film. A lot has already been said about our views, but these people are really out there. Vishal has always said that this is a big victory for us because it is the soul of the film. But I don’t think we would have reached there if it wasn’t for Neeraj, their friendship wouldn’t have been portrayed so beautifully."Ishaan added, "The first thing is that even we are realising retrospectively that we haven’t seen a story about friendship like this in years. A story that doesn’t trivialise male friendship. Even in jokes or laughter, it doesn’t fizzle out. You stay with the uncomfortable moments, with the vulnerable moments. It’s a deep friendship, literally a life-in-death kind of bond. Such a deep friendship hasn’t been seen on screen in a long time. Many people have said that after watching the film. Male friendship has been seen on screen after so long, and that’s why so many men are crying after watching the film. And it’s not a sad cry, it’s a cathartic cry."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmpgEoB2FEo

Actor Adarsh Gourav, who was also part of the chat, lauded the film for its emotional story. He called it a “beautiful depiction” of true friendship.