‘Homebound’ compensation row

Neeraj Ghaywan

Filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan has dismissed reports that the family whose story inspired his Oscar-shortlisted film Homebound was paid only R10,000. The director clarified on X that the sum was a token he had personally given Amrit’s father years ago during research, not the full compensation. “Please do not mistake this for the full extent. Neither I, nor the producers would ever reduce such a deeply personal story to such a pittance,” he wrote. Amrit, a young man whose life and friendship with Saiyub inspired the film, had expressed happiness with his portrayal in Neeraj’s film. Inspired by Basharat Peer’s article Taking Amrit Home, Homebound premiered at Cannes and later screened at TIFF.