Janhvi Kapoor reveals dad Boney, sis Khushi’s reactions to watching Homebound at Cannes: ‘Howling, bloodshot eyes’

Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound, starring Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this year. In an interview with Sucharita Tyagi, Janhvi revealed that dad Boney Kapoor and sis Khushi Kapoor had ‘visceral’ reactions to the film. (Also Read: Homebound first reviews: Neeraj Ghaywan film hailed as ‘deeply empathetic’ with particular praise for Ishaan Khatter)

Janhvi Kapoor says Homebound made everyone cry

Janhvi says that after the premiere of Homebound at Cannes, she avoided her family on purpose because she knew their reactions would make her cry. “I greeted everyone. But I saw my dad; he was howling, he was a mess. I haven’t seen him like that in a long time. And my sister’s eyes were bloodshot. I was like, I’m not gonna go up to them. Because I know if I do, I’m gonna start crying again. But he was so moved by the film. I don’t think I’ve seen him have such a visceral reaction to any piece of art in such a long time,” she said. 

The actor mentioned that it’s not just her family, everyone in the theatre was crying by the end of it, stating, “It wasn’t like gentle, cute, sniffles. It was like (imitates sobbing). I think people had an existential crisis in that room, which I loved. I saw the film once before, a slightly different cut. And I was the biggest mess in the world. So much so that Neeraj sir, who’s a very sensitive man, even he was like, itna kyu ro rahi hain? (Why are you crying so much?) So yesterday I was like, I won’t cry today. Vishal was the first one to kind of crack. The second a particular plot point happened, I was a mess.” 

About Homebound

Homebound is executive produced by Martin Scorsese and produced by Karan Johar, Somen Mishra, Apoorva Mehta, and Adar Poonawalla. The film’s synopsis reads, “Two friends from a North Indian village pursue police jobs seeking dignity, but their friendship strains as desperation grows in their quest.” The film got a nine-minute standing ovation at Cannes.