‘It Really Breaks Your Heart’

‘These
characters
have
huge
spirits
and
they
are
fighting
something
that
is
much
bigger
than
them.’
‘The
attempt
was
to
portray
how
they
navigate
their
lives,
to
retain
that
spirit
and
not
let
it
die.’

Ishaan
Khatter
and

Vishal
Jethwa
were
at
different
points
in
their
careers
when
Director
Neeraj
Ghaywan
(Masaan)
picked
them
for
what
could
be
the
roles
of
their
lifetime.

In
Ghaywan’s
new
film

Homebound,
Khatter
and
Jethwa
play
childhood
friends
Shoaib
and
Chandan,
a
Muslim
and
a
Dalit,
who
grow
up
in
a
small
village
in
Uttar
Pradesh.
Despite
their
status
in
life,
the
two
dream
of
breaking
out
of
the
restrictions
imposed
on
them
by
society
by
joining
the
state’s
police
force.

Homebound
—
inspired
by
real
characters
whose
lives
were
documented
in
Basharat
Peer’s

New
York
Times
article
—
premiered
at
the
Cannes
film
festival,
where
the
actors,
along
with
Janhvi
Kapoor
in
a
supporting
role,
made
their
debut.

In
the
film,
the
two
friends
eventually
land
jobs
in
Surat
but
in
the
wake
of
the
nationwide
lockdown,
following
the
breakout
of
the
COVID-19
pandemic,
are
forced
to
leave
town
and
travel
a
long
distance,
mostly
by
foot,
to
their
village.

Homebound
is
produced
by
Karan
Johar’s
Dharma
Productions
with
Martin
Scorsese
lending
his
name
as
the
executive
producer.

Aseem
Chhabra
spoke
to
the
two
young
actors
after
the
world
premiere
of

Homebound.

Ishaan
and
Vishal,
you
have
acted
in
many
films.
Actors
can
do
anything
but
in
the
film,
both
of
you
bring
out
that
friendship
quality
so
convincingly.
Did
you
know
each
other
from
before?

Ishaan:
Only
socially.

Vishal:
We
met
in
July
and
August
2024,
and
started
filming
in
September
2024.

Ishaan:
Vishal
and
I
read
together
in
July.
Once
everything
was
locked,
Neeraj
insisted
we
spend
one-on-one
time
together.
He
wanted
us
to
develop
the
spirit
of
this
friendship.
He
also
said,
‘I
want
you
to
be
vulnerable
with
each
other,
share
things
from
the
past,
and
not
just
the
happy
stuff.’

Did
you
guys
go
out
drinking?

Ishaan:
Quite
the
opposite.
I
don’t
even
drink.
Vishal
at
that
time
had
injured
his
leg;
he
had
met
with
an
accident
and
was
in
a
cast.
I
also
had
a
ligament
tear.
Since
we
were
both
injured,
we
decided
‘Let’s
not
go
anywhere,

hum
ghar
par
hee
milenge.’

The
first
time
we
met,
we
spoke
for
about
five
hours.
We
got
pretty
close
and
comfortable.

After
that,
Neeraj
broke
the
ice,
doing
workshops,
improvising
situations,
which
brought
us
close
to
the
characters.
He
was
also
working
with
us
individually
to
finding
our
characters.
So
it
was
a
combination
of
developing
our
chemistries
and
working
that
into
the
characters
he
had
built.

What
really
made
us
connect
with
the
characters
was
the
trip
we
took
to
UP
and
some
of
the
villages
where
we
spent
about
six
days
meeting
people.

Vishal,
what
did
you
learn
about
Ishaan
after
spending
five
hours
together
the
first
time?

Vishal:
We
were
able
to
learn
some
secrets
about
each
other
and
our
thinking
process.
Within
a
day,
we
were
joking
with
each
other,
giving
high-fives.
That
was
needed
for
the
characters
in
the
film.
We
couldn’t
fake
the
friendship
on
screen.

We
had
to
have
this
connection,
to
bring
it
to
the
audience
and
show
it
on
screen.
Otherwise,
it
wouldn’t
have
looked
truthful.

Also,
as
I
have
said
earlier
too,
he’s
a
great
person,
a
great
personality.
He’s
open
to
everything,
open
to
listening
to
you
without
judging
you.
He’s
like
a
go-to-friend
for
me.
He
knows
me
well
now.
We
are
that
comfortable.

Humne
to
ek
doosre
ke
saath
narazgi
bhi
kar
li.

Ishaan,
what
did
you
discover
about
Vishal?

Ishaan:
I
think
he’s
someone
who’s
very
emotional,
sensitive,
and
feels
strongly
about
things.

But
there
was
a
curiosity
in
him
to
understand
the
film,
its
depths,
and
to
understand
Neeraj’s
voice.
I
saw
him
every
day
on
set,
pushing
himself
to
be
open,
and
imbibe
all
that
he
can
and
grow.

It
was
fun
to
have
a
partner
who
would
come
with
a
level
of
investment
that
was
high
and
all
in.
In
every
sense,
he’s
been
my
bouncing
ball.

Vishal
you
are
one
year
older
than
Ishaan.

Vishal:
Yes,
I
am
31.

I
mentioned
your
ages
because
both
of
you
have
tough
roles;
tough
to
play
for
somebody
of
your
ages,
as
I
am
sure
you
guys
have
not
had
such
difficult
experiences
in
life.

Ishaan:
Our
job
was
to
create
empathy.
Of
course,
imagination
is
big
to
me
but
our
work
was
to
try
and
bring
ourselves
as
close
to
the
characters
as
possible,
try
and
understand
them
as
best
as
we
could.

These
boys
were
22-23,
and
they
had
lived
this
life.

This
is
not
an
easy
subject
to
even
talk
about.

I
think,
at
least
for
me,
I
didn’t
want
this
film
and
its
tone
to
feel
self-pitying.
I
wanted
you
to
see
the
resilience
and
the
spirit
of
these
characters.

From
the
very
beginning,
my
character
Shoaib
strikes
you
as
an
optimist.
He
feels
empowered
despite
the
odds.

Then
when
you
start
seeing
the
cracks
in
his
inner
world,
it
really
breaks
your
heart.
These
characters
have
huge
spirits
and
they
are
fighting
something
that
is
much
bigger
than
them.
The
attempt
was
to
portray
how
they
navigate
their
lives,
to
retain
that
spirit
and
not
let
it
die.

Yes,
it
was
emotionally
draining.
It
was
definitely
physically
challenging
because
there
would
be
long
days
of
some
really
hard
scenes,
and
at
least
in
my
case,
as
I
am
not
an
in-and-out
type
of
actor.

I
can’t
switch
on
and
switch
off.

Also,
we
were
persuaded
by
Neeraj
to
stay
immersed.
So
it
was
difficult
but
also
a
pleasure
because
everything
on
this
set
supported
the
work
we
were
trying
to
do.

Vishal:
Yes,
we
are
young
but
in
my
case,
if
you
look
at
Chandan’s
journey,
I
was
not
that
privileged
in
my
teenage
years.
Now
I
sleep
in
a
room
with
an
AC
and
have
a
car.
But
I
have
also
seen
the
kind
of
life
that
Chandan
had.

What
do
your
parents
do?

Vishal:
My
father
passed
away
when
I
was
13
and
my
mother
raised
us
single-handedly.
So
I
have
a
sense
of
poverty
and
struggle,
coming
from
a
lower
middle-class
family.
I
became
mature
early
on.
I
saw
a
lot
and
am
able
to
use
many
of
these
experiences
in
my
film
work.

I
know
I
can
never
fully
experience
what
these
characters
go
through
but
we
do
understand
the
world
of
Chandan
and
Shoaib.

Physically,
it
was
also
challenging
for
me.
I
lost
nearly
10
kilos
during
the
making
of
the
film.

Ishaan:
We
had
to
look
as
normal,
as
invisible
as
possible.

The
film
was
well
received;
the

nine-minute
standing
ovation
was
amazing.
What
did
it
feel
like
for
both
of
you?
Then,
when
you
guys
hugged
each
other.
The
tears
and
smiles.
Do
you
remember
what
was
happening
at
that
moment?

Vishal:
It
was
an
amazing
experience.

I
feel
we
are
blessed
because
there
are
better
hard-working
actors
than
us.
And
it
was
special
that
my
mother
could
be
there
with
me
and
there
were
so
many
stars
present.
It
was
the
biggest
day
in
my
career.

Ishaan:
I
have
always
aspired
to
do
a
certain
calibre
of
work
but
there
are
some
films
that
go
beyond
just
working
for
you.
Also,
having
watched
Neeraj’s
previous
works
and
knowing
his
voice
as
a
filmmaker,
I
aligned
with
this
very
strongly.

I
think
it’s
a
deeply
humanist
film,
very
sensitive.

It’s
not
a
film
that
tries
to
indict
or
point
fingers
or
add
to
the
problem
but
rather,
it
tries
to
hold
the
audience’s
hand
and
show
them
a
perspective
that
perhaps
they’re
not
privy
to.
Perhaps
it
could
spark
a
change
and
empathy
through
that.

I
am
extremely
proud
of
this
film.
Neeraj
worked
very
hard
on
it.
He
spent
three
years
more
than
any
of
us
writing
this
film.
And
we
were
an
integral
part
of
the
process
with
him.

I
think
he
was
devoted
to
telling
this
story
in
as
honest
a
way
as
possible,
and
it
shows
on
screen.

Mira
Nair,
who
directed
you
in

A
Suitable
Boy,
was
in
the
audience.
Did
you
hear
from
her,
Ishaan?

Ishaan:
Yes.
She
sat
next
to
my
mom.
At
the
end,
she
put
her
head
in
my
mom’s
lap.
And
my
mom
was
like,
‘I
was
in
no
state
to
control
anyone.’