Karan Johar and Neeraj Ghaywan’s film ‘Homebound’ has been shortlisted among 15 films in contention for the Best International Feature Film category at the 2026 Oscars. Reflecting on the journey, Karan described the film as a “passion project” and made it clear that money was never the driving force behind it.Karan opened up about remaining creatively in charge of Dharma Productions, even after selling a 50% stake in the company to Adar Poonawalla. Praising his business partner, Karan said in a conversation with PeepingMoon and Telly MEK, “Adar is one of the most gracious partners I could ever dreamt of. He is a missionary, he thinks large. He did take this decision to diversify and do something unusual. I am very much still the creative leader and the creative voice. He doesn’t get into that. He doesn’t interfere at all. He will see the larger picture and move on.”Talking specifically about ‘Homebound’ and its Oscar campaign, Karan revealed that the financial aspect was never a concern for Adar. Instead, the team viewed it as an opportunity worth taking. “We were doing Homebound. I told him that doing an Oscar campaign will cost money and sometimes it is an bottomless pit. Because you don’t know what the end result will be, and whether you will even make to the shortlist of 15 and then 5. It is an uphill task.”He went on to explain the scale of such campaigns, saying, “You have to employ publicists and travel and make noise and do media abroad and screenings abroad. But Adar said Karan, this is a great opportunity and a great film, let’s do everything in our capacity. Let’s not think of profit and loss on this one. Let’s think of passion over any monetary benefit. That’s what we did. It is not a money making exercise for us. It is about credibility, we will do other films for survival, but Homebound was always a passion project. There is no monetary game in that film.”While officially selected Indian films receive ₹1 crore from the government for Oscar campaigning, that amount barely scratches the surface. To put things in perspective, Sean Baker’s ‘Anora’, which won Best Feature Film at the 2025 Oscars, reportedly spent a staggering $18 million (around ₹160 crore) on its awards push.
