Karan Johar on Martin Scorsese Backing ‘Homebound’: I Never Thought This Would Happen

When Homebound premiered at Cannes, the excitement wasn’t just about the film—it was seeing Martin Scorsese’s name attached to it. “There’s a film that Dharma produced which also has a Martin Scorsese credit,” Karan Johar beams. “I didn’t think in my wildest dreams—if someone told me this, I would be thinking, ‘What are you smoking? That’s never going to happen’. It’s happened. I can now die and go to heaven or hell, whoever’s accepting me.”

He recalls his first encounter with Scorsese in 2010, in Shah Rukh Khan’s suite at Berlin. “He and Leonardo DiCaprio walked in, and my knees started rattling. They were there for Shutter Island, talking to Shah Rukh about archiving Indian cinema. I was just sitting there like a fan—thinking, will there ever be a day I get to have a conversation with him about cinema?” Karan admits, still in awe, “Making a film with him is beyond that conversation. I don’t know how to act cool about this. I’m just really excited. I can’t believe it."

For Neeraj Ghaywan, Scorsese‘s participation brought a rare mentorship. “The notes came over email, in detail,” he says. “He advised me to shave off a lot of exposition. This was my first full-length screenplay, and I was trying to say 100 things in one film. His points were bang on—they helped me streamline the narrative.”

Neeraj continues, “During editing, he had wonderful suggestions on how to make it tighter, more to the point. Sometimes, it was unbelievable that he was even talking about my film.” He credits Mélita Toscan du Plantier, co-producer and Scorsese’s conduit, for making the collaboration possible. “He’d liked Masaan, and it was supposed to be released in America, but that didn’t happen. So I’m glad it happened here.”

On the Cannes carpet, both Karan and Neeraj radiated the same disbelief. As Karan put it, “It still hasn’t sunk in yet.”