'Homebound stands for something very beautiful at a time where the world is starting to feel like there is a lot of othering going on and it's starting to feel divided.'
'We are starting to become less human, more disconnected.'
The last thing you would expect Neeraj Ghaywan to say, when he's discussing his new directorial Homebound is that he IS a glutton!
He even narrates an incident to prove it, an incident that has, in fact, made its way into the film.
"I am obsessed with Biryani because I am from Hyderabad," Neeraj says.
"I used to go on the terrace and look down to see like which aunty has sent what... But (that time) the 'best Biryani aunty' hadn't sent anything. It was 3 pm and I was starving.
"Finally, I couldn't wait anymore, so I climbed into her house -- the family had gone for namaaz -- and started eating Biryani (from the pot). Then aunty came in and said, 'bol dete, beta, ghar pahucha deta'."
It's a beautiful scene in the film, where Vishal Jethwa's Chandan gobbles down some Biryani while Ishaan Khatter's Shoaib catches him and teases him, capturing his embarrassment in a video.
Homebound has many more beautiful and touching moments and is probably a rare film that hasn't been questioned and debated upon for its selection as India's Oscar choice.
It tells the story of childhood friends Chandan, from a lower caste, and Shoaib, a Muslim, who fight against the lowly cards life deals out to them and pursue their dreams.
There are a lot of scenes that tug at your heart.
Vishal's most challenging scene is the one where the two boys anxiously scan online to see whether they have cleared the entrance exam to become police constables.
As they type their names on the computer, the tension builds up, and you start living their anxiety. Finally, Chandan finds his name, and the happiness he feels washes over you.
"People will probably not realise that I was the most scared for this scene," Vishal says.
"The happiness of getting results is something I have never experienced in my life, so I didn't know its importance.
"If you watch the scene, it starts with the anxiety that Chandan feels, and I was feeling it too. I was very scared. To show genuine happiness from inside, not just laugh, is very difficult," he says.
Neeraj and Ishaan pick the heartbreaking climax as the scene that they found most challenging.
"In an earlier scene, very difficult one, I had seen Ishaan offering a little prayer in a corner," Neeraj says.
"It was such a nice thing to just watch, even though I am an atheist. I was just deeply moved by someone's commitment to it and see that it meant so much.
"But he did not pray before the climax. He had forgotten because he was so invested in it. And then I felt that, will he feel regret later that he did not do that little prayer? So, I made my assistant read out a prayer."
"Sometimes, the scene that feels very simple on the page turns out to be the most difficult to shoot," Ishaan says.
"I am not somebody who likes to use memory to penetrate an emotion. The script speaks back to you at some point. I don't like to intellectualise it too much. It's as simple as either you connect with it or you don't.
"In fact, I like to get out of my head more than, you know, get into it. So, whatever can get me out of my head, I try to use that," Ishaan explains his acting process.
Watch: Neeraj, Ishaan and Vishal discuss Homebound with Ronjita Kulkarni/Rediff
Video Presentation: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff
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