Lights, Camera, Scoop: How 'Homebound' Won September Oscar Submission Race; Into 'Sabar Bonda's Big Marketing Swing

If you were waiting for someone to wake you up when September ends, you probably missed out on the buzziest month for India's indie cinema, which witnessed a terrific Oscar submission race (spoiler alert: Homebound went through), a glorious magical-realism drama that brought an unprecedented over 15 filmmakers together to champion it (Jugnuma) and a queer Marathi film (Sabar Bonda) which pulled off the sight of the month to mark its celebration: a foot-tapping lavani performance inside a night club. How did it all happen?

To qualify for Oscar submissions, all the titles had to release theatrically (and run for at least seven consecutive days) before September 30. Which meant all these films, some coming after strong festival buzz, opened in cinemas every Friday of the month, starting with Aranya Sahay’s lovely Humans In The Loop which Kiran Rao helped get a commercial release as an executive producer.

The other indie title, which made its presence known through digital and on-ground promotions, was Raam Reddy's Jugnuma. Led by Manoj Bajpayee, with Guneet Monga Kapoor and Anurag Kashyap as executive producers, the magical-realism drama anchored its campaign on Indian filmmakers banding together for the stunning feature, released by Ranjan Singh of Flip Films.

The approach played out like this: First, Kashyap and Monga Kapoor were announced to come on board as EPs, then the trailer was launched digitally by Vetri Maaran, Lijo Jose Pellissery, Raj B. Shetty and Nag Ashwin, followed by a screening which trickled into the media due to the presence of makers like Vikramaditya Motwane, Abhishek Chaubey, Amar Kaushik, Vasan Bala, Advait Chandan, Saeed Akhtar Mirza, Sudhir Mishra and Honey Trehan among others.

When the film opened theatrically on September 11, Jugnuma saw unprecedented acclaim, with many hailing it as one of the best Indian films of the year and, at least in terms of social conversations, cementing it as one of the frontrunners for the Oscar submission race. That is, until Dharma dropped its juggernaut Homebound release date.

Neeraj Ghaywan's second feature, armed with global acclaim and a sensational Cannes debut, where French producer Mélita Toscan du Plantier brought on board Martin Scorsese as the executive producer, fixed its India release date on the last Friday of September, just in time before the Oscar submission was closing.

Of course, it led to some chatter. Skeptics raised eyebrows on how the Dharma Productions feature would have the mandatory seven-day run in cinemas when it released on September 26, drawing concerns of rules being tweaked.

But an India Today report, quoting FFI Chairman Firdausul Hasan, stated that the makers of Homebound had signed an undertaking, ensuring that the film runs for seven consecutive days in at least one cinema hall. "The rules and legalities have been duly followed, and only then was Homebound entered into the list of films that the jury watched," Hasan clarified.

Meanwhile, the team of the tender romantic drama Sabar Bonda rolled a different dice.

Filmmaker Rohan Parashuram Kanawade's drama—which became the first Marathi-language film ever to premiere at Sundance, where it won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize Dramatic—also had a battery of EPs attached to the film; from filmmakers Nikkhil Advani, Vikramaditya Motwane, Nagraj Manjule to actor Sai Tamhankar.

The makers also on-boarded Rana Daggubati's Spirit Media to distribute the film and launched its campaign, reaching out to audiences on the ground by tapping into queer community partners and holding special screenings and discussions across Mumbai, Delhi, and Pune.

The audience-first approach culminated in a celebration earlier this week, when the makers announced a special— probably unheard of in recent times—offer, where audiences could buy a ticket to the film on Tuesday and use it as an entry pass for the success bash of the film held at a five-star hotel.

A ticket would mean an opportunity to meet the cast and crew of the film, interact with the star EPs, witness live song and dance performances—and one free drink! The result was overwhelming.

The 4.20 PM show at PVR City Mall on Tuesday was packed—the author could only manage a front row seat—and the turnout at the party was equally rewarding, with Mumbai's indie community, perhaps a little lost in the absence of MAMI which had glued them together for years, finally under one roof to discuss movies, raise a toast and shake a leg with other artists even in these, uncertain, shaky times in the industry. There was celebration, hope—and of course, 'Chaiyya Chaiyya'!