Homebound is currently playing on Netflix.
Just last week, the team behind Homebound was celebrating, and rightfully so. The film had made it to the shortlist of the top 15 contenders in the Best International Feature category at the Oscars. But that excitement has now taken a legal turn. According to a report by Hindustan Times, journalist and author Puja Changoiwala has initiated legal action against Karan Johar and Adar Poonawalla’s Dharma Productions, alleging that the film, which stars Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, and Janhvi Kapoor, plagiarizes her 2021 novel, also titled Homebound. She plans to file the lawsuit in the Bombay High Court.
Puja explained in her email: “The subject of both (novel and the film) is the COVID-19 migrant exodus of 2020.” She further alleges, “Upon watching the film, I discovered that the producers have not only misappropriated the title of my book, but have also blatantly reproduced substantial portions of my novel in the second half of the film, including its scenes, dialogue, narrative structure, sequence of events, and other creative expressions.” Following her viewing of the film, her lawyer issued a notice to Dharma Productions on October 15, “providing a detailed, scene-by-scene account of their infringement of her rights.” She claimed that the producers “refused to acknowledge the violation” in their responses. Puja has now formally initiated legal proceedings against Dharma and Netflix (where the film is officially streaming online) by filing an application with the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015.
The author also contended in her email that Dharma “committed a flagrant act of passing off” by naming the film after her book, which “cannot be a coincidence.” She pointed out that the film was scripted in 2022, well after her 2021 novel had been published. Puja is seeking several remedies in court, including a permanent injunction against the distribution of Homebound, the removal of allegedly infringing material, a change in the film’s title, and damages for copyright infringement. “I know I’m challenging powerful entities by taking this step, but I believe it’s important for writers to defend their work when it’s misappropriated and exploited without their consent,” she said.
Dharma Productions declined to comment directly on the allegations. A spokesperson, however, responded via text: “We are responding to the claim legally and cannot comment anything right now.” The film, however, is officially adapted from the New York Times article A Friendship, a Pandemic and a Death Beside the Highway by Basharat Peer, who also served as a co-writer on the project alongside Sumit Roy, Varun Grover, and Shreedhar Dubey.