Karan Johar seeks the nation`s prayers for Homebound to land Oscar nomination

Filmmaker Karan Johar is over the moon after his movie Homebound, featuring Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, and Janhvi Kapoor, got shortlisted for the 98th Academy Awards in the `Best International Feature Film` category. 

The film has moved one step closer to an Oscar nomination by getting into the shortlist of 15 International movies.

On Thursday, the filmmaker said that Homebound making it to the top 15 shortlist in the Best International Feature category is an achievement in itself, and now the team hopes that the film makes India proud by earning an Oscar nomination.

Karan Johar seeks the nation`s prayers for Oscar nomination

Reflecting on the phenomenal journey the film has had across film festivals, Karan Johar said, "We`ve come a long way with Homebound. When we started the film, we prayed that we would get it to Cannes. Then we prayed that we would get it to Toronto. Then we prayed that our film would be the official selection for the Academy Awards. Then we had to pray that from 92 countries, which became 86 finally, we would come down to the top 15. "

Stressing the magnitutde of the achievement, he added, "There are only 5 feature films in the history of the Academy Awards from India that have reached this position. There`s Salaam Bombay, Lagaan, Chello Show, Mother India, and there is now going to be Homebound. We have reached that juncture where we are very close to the final five. Whether we make it or not, I seek your blessings."

About the 2026 Oscar Nominations 

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the shortlisted names across 12 categories on 16 December, including `Animated Short Film`, `Casting`, `Cinematography`, `Documentary Feature Film`, `Documentary Short Film`, `International Feature Film`, `Live Action Short Film`, `Makeup and Hairstyling, Music` (Original Score), `Music` (Original Song), `Sound and Visual Effects`.

Homebound will be competing in the `Best International Feature Film` category with Argentina’s Belen, Brazil’s The Secret Agent, France’s It Was Just an Accident, Germany’s Sound of Falling, Iraq’s The President’s Cake, Japan’s Kokuho, Jordan’s All That’s Left of You, Norway’s Sentimental Value, Palestine’s Palestine 36, South Korea’s No Other Choice, Spain’s Sirat, Switzerland’s Late Shift, Taiwan’s Left-Handed Girl, and Tunisia’s The Voice of Hind Rajab.

The final nominees in all these categories are expected to be announced on January 22, 2026.

The 98th Academy Awards are slated to take place on March 15, 2026, with comedian Conan O’Brien returning as the host.