Shortlisted for an Oscar, ‘Homebound’ is a daring movie about two dear friends

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Mohammad Saiyub (above, in a Mumbai quarter on a February day) appeared in a photo that went viral in the early days of the pandemic. He and his childhood buddy Amrit Kumar were hitching home, a journey of nearly 1,000 miles. Kumar, who is a Hindu Dalit, fell ill. Saiyub, a Muslim, cradled his friend by the roadside. Their different religious identities drew attention in a country where communal relations have been polarized after a decade of Hindu nationalist rule. The photo and the story behind it inspired the award-winning movie <em>Homebound</em>.

The movie, now streaming on Netflix, defied current trends in Indian cinema to tell the true story of a friendship between a Muslim and a Hindu Dalit. Martin Scorsese was secretly involved.

(Image credit: Diaa Hadid/NPR)

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