Oscar-shortlisted Homebound faces legal trouble over plagiarism claim

Puja Changoiwala, author of a novel by the same name, has moved court against Dharma Productions and Netflix over copyright infringement

Just a week after Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound was shortlisted for the Oscars, the film has landed in legal trouble. Journalist and author Puja Changoiwala has initiated legal action against Karan Johar and Adar Poonawalla’s Dharma Productions and Netflix Entertainment Services India, alleging that the film plagiarises her 2021 novel, The Hindustan Times reported.

What are Puja Changoiwala’s plagiarism allegations?

 

Changoiwala alleges that Homebound, starring Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor, not only uses the same title as her novel but also reproduces substantial portions of her work in the second half of the film. She maintains that both her novel and the film deal with the Covid-19 migrant exodus of 2020.

 

 

In an email to The Hindustan Times, Changoiwala said after watching the film, she discovered that the producers had “blatantly reproduced substantial portions of my novel” and that the use of the same title “cannot be a coincidence". She further alleged that Homebound was scripted in 2022, well after her novel was published in 2021.

 

She also accused Dharma Productions of committing a “flagrant act of passing off” by naming the film after her book. 

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What legal steps has Changoiwala taken against the makers?

 

Changoiwala’s lawyer issued a legal notice to Dharma Productions on October 15, providing what she described as a detailed, scene-by-scene account of the alleged copyright infringement. She claimed the producers refused to acknowledge the violation in their responses.

 

The author has now initiated legal proceedings by filing an application before the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015. This step mandates pre-institution mediation before a suit can be filed in the Bombay High Court.

What relief is Changoiwala seeking from the court?

 

Changoiwala is seeking multiple remedies, including a permanent injunction against the distribution of Homebound, the removal of all allegedly infringing material, a change in the film’s title, and damages for the alleged copyright infringement.

 

Addressing the power imbalance, she said she was aware she was challenging influential industry entities but stressed that it was important for writers to defend their work when it is misappropriated and exploited without consent, as quoted by The Hindustan Times.

How have Dharma Productions and Netflix responded?

 

According to an India Today report, Dharma Productions said the plagiarism allegations are being addressed through legal channels. Netflix has not issued a public response so far.

What is Homebound about?

 

Homebound follows the lives of childhood friends Shoaib (Ishaan Khatter) and Chandan (Vishal Jethwa), whose shared ambition of joining the police shapes their choices and relationship.

 

The film premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival 2025 and was later screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the Second Runner-Up prize for the International Audience Choice Award.