While the country is celebrating Homebound being shortlisted for the Academy Awards 2026, the film has landed in legal trouble. The development has surprised many, especially as the film was widely seen as an original and meaningful work.
Journalist and author Puja Changoiwala has initiated legal action against Dharma Productions and Netflix. She has accused them of plagiarising her 2021 novel Homebound.
Puja is set to file a suit in the Bombay High Court. She claims the film Homebound, directed by Neeraj Ghaywan and starring Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, and Janhvi Kapoor, closely copies her book.
The film’s team has maintained that Homebound is based on a 2020 New York Times article by journalist Basharat Peer. The article is titled A Friendship, a Pandemic and a Death Beside the Highway, and the makers say it served as the primary source.
However, Puja alleges that the producers not only used her book’s title but also reproduced major portions of it. She claims scenes, dialogues, narrative flow, and key sequences in the second half of the film mirror her novel.
Reports say that after watching the film, Puja’s lawyer issued a legal notice to Dharma Productions on October 15. The notice reportedly included a detailed scene by scene comparison highlighting alleged copyright violations.
According to Puja, the producers refused to accept any wrongdoing. She has stated that it was unethical to name the film after her book and added that the film was scripted in 2022, after her novel was published.
Puja is seeking a permanent injunction on the film’s release and exhibition. She has also demanded the removal of allegedly infringing material, a change in the film’s title, and damages for copyright infringement.
The dispute has left fans shocked, as a film praised for originality now faces plagiarism claims. The controversy has sparked wider debate on whether so called prestigious cinema is always as original as it appears.
