Karan Johar calls ‘expensive’ Oscar campaign for Homebound a ‘bottomless pit’

FIlmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan’s housebound has been shortlisted for the 98th honorary society Awards in the charles herbert best International feature shoot Film category. The film, produced by Karan Johar's Dharma Entertainment, is now vying for a nomination in the Best Foreign Film category. The filmmaker has now revealed that the moment of celebration came with the reality of an expensive Oscar campaign, admitting that at times it can feel like a “bottomless pit.” Karan described the film as a “passion project”, stressing that money was never the driving force behind it.Karan Johar on expensive Oscar campaignRecently, Karan joined a podcast on PeepingMoon and Telly MEK on YouTube where he spoke about Homebound making it to the 2026 Oscars shortlist. He revealed that his business partner, Adar Poonawalla, spared no expense while launching the Oscar campaign for their film Homebound, which stars Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, and Janhvi Kapoor.Karan said Adar wasn’t concerned about the money spent on the film’s Oscar campaign, as they saw it as an opportunity rather than a risky financial bet.“We were doing Homebound. I told him that doing an Oscar campaign will cost money and sometimes it is a bottomless pit. Because you don’t know what the end result will be, and whether you will even make to the shortlist of 15 and then 5. It is an uphill task,” Karan said.The filmmaker added, “You have to employ publicists and travel and make noise and do media abroad and screenings abroad. But Adar said Karan, this is a great opportunity and a great film, let’s do everything in our capacity. Let’s not think of profit and loss on this one. Let’s think of passion over any monetary benefit. That’s what we did. It is not a money making exercise for us. It is about credibility, we will do other films for survival, but Homebound was always a passion project. There is no monetary game in that film.”Homebound makes it to 2026 Oscars shortlistDirector Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound, starring Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, and Janhvi Kapoor, has been shortlisted for the 98th Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category. It was announced last month. The final nominations will be announced on January 22. 2026. Comedian Conan O’Brien will return to host the 98th Academy Awards, which will be held on March 15.Homebound follows childhood friends Shoaib (Ishaan Khatter) and Chandan (Vishal Jethwa), whose shared dream of joining the police force shapes their lives, with Janhvi Kapoor.Homebound is produced by Karan Johar, Adar Poonawalla, Apoorva Mehta, Somen Mishra and co-produced by Marijke deSouza and Melita Toscan Du Plantier, along with Martin Scorsese and Pravin Khairnar acting as the Executive Producers. The film is inspired by journalist Basharat Peer's article Taking Amrit Home, also titled (A Friendship, a Pandemic and a Death Beside the Highway).