Homebound At Cannes: Neeraj Ghaywan On Receiving Feedback From Martin Scorsese
Updated on: 22 May, 2025 01:32 PM IST |Shweta Shah
Neeraj Ghaywan talks about Martin Scorsese`s feedback on Homebound
Neeraj Ghaywan is living the dream that every filmmaker aspires to. His movie Homebound premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, and it received a standing ovation for nine long minutes. The emotional drama about two brothers is directed by Ghaywan and backed by Karan Johar`s Dharma Productions.
Homebound was not only premiered in the prestigious Un Certain Regard category but also came with creative feedback from Hollywood icon and legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese.
Now, Neeraj opened up about working closely with Scorsese, how his input helped him refine the film`s screenplay, and his overall Cannes experience.
Neeraj Ghaywan on Martin Scorsese`s feedback for Homebound
The Indian filmmaker got candid with The Hollywood Reporter and spoke in length about his first meeting with Scorsese and how it all started. He mentioned the notes received from the Hollywood director were detailed and descriptive.
Also Read: Neeraj Ghaywan`s Homebound Gets Historic 9 Minute Standing Ovation At Cannes
“Well, the notes came in over e-mail, and… and detail. In detail. Because he started out on the script, and he said advised me to shave off a lot of the exposition. And, you know, this is the first time I’m actually writing a full screenplay. So that was a little daunting, because every filmmaker wants to say a hundred things in the same film,” Ghaywan said.
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He further added, “So those things, and try to put restraint on some of the arcs that he said may impede your main narrative. Those points were really bang on because it helped me, like, pave the screenplay.”
He added that The Irishman director`s guidance wasn`t limited to just the script. He even exclaimed that the experience of working with a critically acclaimed filmmaker hasn`t sunk in yet.
“We actually went with a very big screenplay, and also during editing, like, he had such wonderful things to talk about. Like say how to make it shorter, make it to the point, and every bit of it. Sometimes it was such disbelief, you know, like to even comprehend that, ‘Hello, he is talking about my film.’ Of course, like we liked Masaan and it was supposed to be releasing in America. That didn’t happen, but I’m glad it happened here. Just like with Karan, even for me, it hasn’t sunk in yet,” Neeraj Ghaywan explained.
Karan Johar on Homebound`s journey at Cannes
The producer, who backed the film under his Dharma Productions banner, also reflected on the journey. For the uninitiated, Homebound – starring Ishaan Khatter, Janhvi Kapoor, and Vishal Jethwa – received a nine-minute-long standing ovation at Cannes.
Karan elaborated, “I’m like, I have a film which has Martin Scorsese’s name along. I’ve never met the man. I’ve met the man actually, but not in relation to him.”
Karan recalled his first meeting with the Hollywood icon, “My first meeting with Martin Scorsese was in Shah Rukh Khan’s suite in Berlin, where he and Leo walked in, and my knees started rattling a little bit. They were there for Shutter Island, and he was talking to Shah Rukh, talking about archiving Indian cinema, and I was just watching… I remember having a thought, ‘Will there ever come a day that I will have a conversation with him about cinema?’”
“But doing a film with him is beyond that conversation. Yeah, it is. I’m, like, elated. I don’t know how to act cool about this. I’m sorry. I’m just, like, really excited,” he concluded.
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