Actor Vishal Jethwa’s film Homebound might have not made it to the final nominations of the 98th Academy Awards, but he holds this journey of competing in one of the most prestigious film awards in the world, very close to his heart. Homebound was India’s official entry in the Best International Feature Film category.
Vishal talks to us exclusively and says, “While we didn’t make the final nominations, being shortlisted among the final 15 films is an honour in itself. Seeing Homebound travel this far and represent India globally has been incredibly special.
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The actor plays the role of Chandan Kumar Valmiki in the movie, which also stars Ishaan Khatter in the parallel lead. Vishal further adds, “And I will forever be grateful to have been part of this film.”
The actor confesses that he did have belief and hopes that the film would go ahead.
“Even though we say that we should not expect anything, but ab jab itna aage aa gaye the to thoda expectations to thi. No matter how many people saw the film, they liked it and called it a strong story and that in itself feels like an achievement,” says the actor.
The campaigning journey for Vishal and the rest of the team including producer Karan Johar, director Neeraj Ghaywan and executive producer Hollywood filmmaker Martin Scorsese, has been an “honest one”.
Going forward, Vishal hopes that his learning from the Oscar campaigning days stays with him forever.
Elaborating on this Vishal says, “Iss film ka poore experience ne, chaahe wo shooting ho ya campaigning ho, ya film festivals attend karna ho, isne mukhe bohot badla hai. This has been a liberating experience for me.”
He adds, “I have been able to understand myself better and I have gained this confidence. Sometimes I worry about losing this confidence once all of this is over and whatever I have learnt and built as a person shouldn’t go away.”
