Such opportunities come rarely in an actor's life: Vishal Jethwa on 'Homebound' success, Bollywood journey

By Palash Srivastava

New Delhi [India], July 24 : Neeraj Ghaywan's 'Homebound' saw the emergence of actor Vishal Jethwa, who gained popularity through his brief yet impactful roles in the television industry. After the breakout success of his latest project 'Homebound', the actor opened up on his journey, fame and future in the Bollywood industry.

Vishal began his career with a memorable role as a young Akbar in the television historical period drama series 'Bharat Ka Veer Putra - Maharana Pratap'. His portrayal of Emperor Akbar was widely acclaimed by both the audience and critics.

However, a breakthrough role was much-awaited by the actor in the entertainment industry.

With such ambition in heart, Vishal Jethwa stepped on the pedal of fame after he landed a negative role in Rani Mukerji's 'Mardaani 2'. He played the role of a serial killer who appeared to be a little unhinged when basic human emotions were considered.

Vishal's acting skills in the movie shocked cinemagoers in 2019. He captured the attention of viewers, who soon became his fans. However, the film was led by the superstar Rani Mukerji, who is no less than a superstar herself.

Though this film became a domestic hit, the global fame for the actor was yet to come, as his performance was reportedly overshadowed by superstar Rani Mukerji's powerful portrayal of a cop.

After brief roles in movies like 'Tiger 3' and 'IB71', the actor landed a role in Neeraj Ghaywan's 'Homebound' movie, which served as the perfect opportunity for the actor to showcase his work on global platforms after it was nominated in the Un Certain Regard award category at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.

'Homebound' also received a nine-minute-long standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival 2025.

While talking to ANI, Vishal described the breakout success of 'Homebound' and receiving global fame as one of the "rare opportunities" in an actor's life.

"I don't know what to expect now I do not expect also a lot from anything these days I just hope that whatever things are coming in front of me, I should enjoy it as much as possible and experience it as much as possible because all this is happening for the first time in my life and such opportunity comes very rarely in every actor's life," said Vishal Jethwa.

The actor further discussed savouring the moment. Vishal doesn't believe in rushing his decisions and has no plans or strategy in place following his breakout success in his career.

"I want to take everything one step at a time, and I want to go there and see what is happening. It's not like that now that I have gone to Cannes, so I have set a benchmark and won't do anything below that. I don't have a lot of planning. I don't have a lot of strategy in my mind. I just want to enjoy it as it is," added Vishal Jethwa.

The prime motive of Vishal to enter the entertainment industry was to achieve fame. The actor admitted that initially, he thought that it was an impossible dream of his life due to the struggle in the film industry. Cannes came out of the syllabus for him, in a good way.

"All this is a bonus. My one target was to become a little popular. I wanted to be recognised by 5-6 people out of 10, and at that time I thought it was impossible. I thought it was very difficult, and for me it was impossible to perform on television. I tried many times, but I never thought that such things would happen in my life. I never thought that I would go to Cannes," said Vishal Jethwa.

Vishal Jethwa has been nominated for the Best Actor Award at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, along with the film being nominated to be screened there. The Film Festival is set to take place from August 14.

The film will also be screened at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.

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