#ishan

I know this is temporary happiness😔

But lemme enjoy these present moments🥹

Missed my parents so bad😭

Homebound follows two childhood friends — a muslim boy and a scheduled-caste boy — trying to make a life for themselves in a world where caste, class, and islamophobia shape every opportunity. As they navigate work, dreams, and daily difficulties, their friendship becomes both a refuge and a pressure point. The film stays grounded in their lived reality, showing how solidarity and vulnerability can coexist inside systems built to break them.

I wasn’t expecting Homebound to go this hard. It’s an incredibly honest exploration of caste, classism, and islamophobia, woven through a story that foregrounds male friendship in a way Indian cinema almost never allows—especially between two minorities who are Scheduled Caste and Muslim. Seeing that kind of bond on screen felt rare, necessary, and deeply moving.

One thing I really appreciated is how rare it is to see anti-caste cinema that doesn’t center upper-caste guilt, but instead genuinely foregrounds the lived experiences of marginalized communities. The film doesn’t try to make oppression palatable. It shows the world as they experience it, not as the dominant group wants to interpret it.

What I loved most is how the story holds together both solidarity and the tensions created by systemic inequality. Their friendship is tender and real, but it’s never naïve. There are pressures, misunderstandings, and emotional distances that come from living inside structures that hurt them differently. And on top of that, the film offers a refreshing take on masculinity, showing men who are allowed to be vulnerable, scared, protective, emotional, without ever falling back into macho clichés. It makes their bond feel even more human.

The acting is phenomenal. Truly. Vishal Jethwa steals the show, but Ishan is just as expressive and raw. Two scenes stayed with me long after the film ended. The first is Ishan at the office party, when the “jokes” turn into casual islamophobia, and you see humiliation, anger, and dignity collide in real time. It felt painfully true. The second is Vishal’s confrontation with Janvhi’s privilege, a perfect moment where the film acknowledges the intersections of caste and class without turning it into a lecture.

As for Janvhi… she’s not bad, but something doesn’t fully land. It’s not about her as a person, and no shame about her surgery, but in such a raw, small-town setting, her “too perfect” face pulls you out of the world a bit. I kept thinking how actresses like Pratibha Ranta or Nitanshi Goel (Lapaata Ladies) might have brought a more textured, grounded vibe to that role.

The music is great, and despite the heavy themes, the film still finds space for humor. Small, human moments that make everything feel even more real.

ABOVE THE NECK (single) by sofia isella

BLIZZARD (album) by dove ellis

CHASING CARS (single) by ISHAN

ETERNITY (single) by alex warren and gigi perez

GHOST WORLD (album) by alison wonderland

GOOD BOY (live in london) (single) by paris paloma

MUSE (single) by abby borgatti

(MY WORLD IS AN) OYSTER (album) by chloe moriondo

SILENT TREATMENT (single) by freya skye

SLOWER (single) by jenny baker

TAKE AWAY YOUR PAIN (single) by anusha savi

WHAT MAKES A GIRL (ep) by esha tewari