Filmmaker Karan Johar’s next production Homebound has been officially selected for the 78th Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard category. Actor Vishal Jethwa, who stars in the film alongside Ishaan Khatter and Janhvi Kapoor, is over the moon.

“I knew about Cannes, but I am realizing its importance now. I have been getting so many calls and messages, but I don’t know what to feel right now. I am excited to go there, but also very nervous. I don’t know how to process it all,” he says.

The 30-year-old insists that this achievement is a result of his 16 years of hard work. “I started working as a background dancer in 2009. I never got work due to someone’s favour; I always earned it. Maine aur meri mom ne mannatein maangi thi ki mujhe yeh film (Homebound) mil jaaye,” he says, adding that the first person he spoke to about the Cannes feat was his mum: “She started crying, as it has been a long journey for me — from a background dancer to Cannes.”

While he can’t reveal details about the film, Vishal informs that the Neeraj Ghaywan directorial is about friendship. The actor insists that even though he had a great debut with Mardaani 2 (2019), his subsequent works failed to create an impact:

“Those films were critically acclaimed, but they didn’t reach the audience and didn’t do well commercially. Homebound came as another opportunity for me to take my work and personality to more people. It will show the industry that I am not a one-hit wonder; I am here to stay.”