Neeraj Ghaywan's Cannes Journey Of 10 Years: From Masaan To Homebound, 2 Films Made India Proud

Life has worked wonderfully for director Neeraj Ghaywan. His debut film, Masaan, premiered at Cannes 2015's Un Certain Regard section and received both applause and accolades. With its deeply moving story of navigating love and loss in the landscape of the country's social barriers, the film emotionally gripped the audience and became a cult classic. 

Now, exactly a decade later, Neeraj Ghaywan's second feature film, Homebound, has again moved the global audience of Cannes 2025 with its tale of choosing between the crossroads of friendship and ambition. This film also premiered at the same section of Cannes and received a nine-minute long standing ovation. From his debut to his second film, Neeraj Ghaywan took ten years, but both times, he made sure to give it his all and make the country proud again. Read on to know more about the one man who received 2 standing ovations for his 2 films at the Cannes Film Festival. 

Neeraj Ghaywan assisted Anurag Kashyap before making his directorial debut

Neeraj Ghaywan has often called Anurag Kashyap, his mentor since it was under him that Neeraj got the opportunity to work on a Hindi film set. He assisted Anurag in two films, one was the cult classic Gangs of Wasseypur, and the other was Ugly. After learning from him, Neeraj then went on to direct two short films of his own, Shor and Epiphany.  While giving an interview on the red carpet after winning the National Award for Masaan, Neeraj Ghaywan said: 

“Anurag has always been my mentor. Right now I am standing here because of him.”

Neeraj Ghaywan made his directorial debut with Masaan, which was also Vicky Kaushal's debut film as an actor 

The film Masaan launched the careers of two phenomenal talents of Bollywood. It introduced Vicky Kaushal as a lead actor with great potential and also marked Neeraj Ghaywan's directorial debut, which established his name as one of the most sought-after directors in the Hindi film industry. The film also starred Richa Chadha, who had already proven her mettle as an actress in previous films. Neeraj first co-wrote Masaan's screenplay with writer, Varun Grover. After the screenplay won the Mahindra Global Filmmaking Award, he made a film based on it. 

Neeraj Ghaywan's Masaan made it to the Cannes 2015 and won two awards and a standing ovation 

Neeraj Ghaywan had cinema lovers spellbound with his directorial debut film, Masaan, at the global stage of Cannes 2015. The film premiered at the Un Certain Regard of the Film Festival and received a five-minute standing ovation from all the attendees. There it won the FIPRESCI Prize and the Prix de l'Avenir award. After receiving global applause and accolades, the film was heartily embraced in its home country as well. Neeraj Ghaywan won the National Award for his direction. Meanwhile, the star cast swept numerous awards at events such as Filmfare, Stardust, Zine Cine Awards, and more.

Neeraj Ghaywan took a break from feature films and focused on short films and series 

Despite Masaan's international success, Neeraj Ghaywan did not make any other full-length feature film for ten years. During this time, he made a short film called Juice, which starred Shefali Shah. He also directed season 2 of Sacred Games, Geeli Pucchi segment in Ajeeb Daastaans and a few episodes of the popular Amazon Prime show, Made In Heaven. In an interview with Cinema Express, Neeraj talked about his decades-long break from feature films and said: 

"There’s this imposter syndrome. I think every filmmaker goes through that self-doubt. In my case it was accentuated a lot with my first time at Cannes with Masaan. It got triggered during the applause that I got for it. Since then I've been trying to find meaning in a meaningless world."

Neeraj Ghaywan made Homebound, backed by Karan Johar's Dharma Productions 

While directing the Geeli Pucchi segment for the film, Ajeeb Daastaans under Dharamatic Entertainment, the digital wing of Dharma Productions, Neeraj Ghaywan worked with producer, Karan Johar. Even though both of them come from very different cinematic genres, with Neeraj more inclined towards art and feature films and Karan primarily involved with commercial films, the duo worked well together. The Masaan director revealed that the most important thing for him is that the people he works with should have kindness, and he found that in Karan while working on Geeli Pucchi. In the same interview, he said: 

"I want to work with people who have kindness. The entire crew has to follow this basic tenet of being kind. I found it in Karan while doing Geeli Puchchi. I believe that if I were to make Homebound again, I'd still make it with Karan, because he has that sensibility."

Neeraj Ghaywan's Homebound received global recognition with a nine-minute long standing ovation at Cannes 2025 

Neeraj Ghaywan has proved why he is the most talented director of the Indian film industry with two movies under his belt, which have both been immensely appreciated at the Cannes Film Festival. After ten years, he directed Homebound, another emotionally charged film that explores the themes of friendship and love and questions social dynamics. The film premiered in the same Un Certain Regard section of Cannes 2025 as Masaan. Neeraj's second film, Homebound, also received love at Cannes 2025 with a nine-minute long standing ovation. 

Neeraj Ghaywan's Homebound stars Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Janvhi Kapoor in the lead 

Homebound stars Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa as the protagonists of the film. Meanwhile, Janvhi Kapoor will also be sharing screens with them. The film has the legendary Hollywood filmmaker, Martin Scorsese on board as the executive producer as well. After the premiere of the film, both producer and director, Karan and Neeraj were seen getting emotional after receiving applause from the audience. 

What are your thoughts on the ten-year journey of Neeraj Ghaywan from Masaan to Homebound at the Cannes Film Festival? 

Also Read: Neeraj Ghaywan's Homebound Received 9-Minute Standing Ovation At Cannes 2025, Here's The Plot

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