India's Oscar entry 'Homebound' tells true story of hardships and hopes

A decade after making his feature film debut with acclaimed drama "Masaan", Indian director Neeraj Ghaywan returns with a second movie that seeks to give a voice to people who feel invisible.

Based on true events, "Homebound" tells the story of two childhood friends from a northern Indian village whose sights are set on police officer jobs they believe will improve their standing in the world.

Shoaib, a Muslim, and Chandan, a Dalit, once called "untouchables", are among the 2.5 million applicants competing for 3,500 jobs in the police. Their bond gets tested during the wait for the entrance exam results, as each weighs his prospects, under pressure to support their families.

Inspired by Basharat Peer's 2020 New York Times article "Taking Amrit home", the film also looks at the plight of the country's large migrant population and the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I saw big potential in speaking about a lot of things that contemporary India is shying away from showing in mainstream spaces, especially the marginalised community people, who are often looked at only in statistics," Ghaywan said.

Depicting the social issues and the discrimination the two friends face made the project personal for Ghaywan, who included his own experiences of growing up as a Dalit in the film.

"I masqueraded myself as an upper caste member for a very long time and it created a lot of fear, a lot of anxiety inside me. I worked through that shame for a very long time and then put it behind me when I publicly came out with my identity," Ghaywan, 45, said.

Ahead of filming, actors Ishaan Khatter (Shoaib) and Vishal Jethwa (Chandan) spent time in northern India's Barabanki, with locals inviting them into their homes and sharing their meals.

"This film, in many ways, is the story of millions of Shoaibs and millions of Chandans and that is what we try to stay true to," Khatter said.

It was selected as India's contender for best international feature film at the 98th Academy Awards - a country by country list that gets whittled down to the five Oscar nominees.

"Homebound", which is executive produced by Martin Scorsese, is streaming on Netflix.