Vishal Jethwa on fear, family, and the fashion moment that helped him fight imposter syndrome

Even as the cast and crew of Homebound was celebrating the film being invited to the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, Vishal Jethwa was caught up in a snake-eats-tail loop of anxiety. “I remember sitting in an air-conditioned room and being covered in sweat. I was so anxious that I thought it would be better if I didn’t go to Cannes,” the actor remembers.

What was meant to be a highlight of his burgeoning career had left him racked with dread. His fear? That he’d be found out: “Normally, people become more confident as they become successful, but it was the opposite with me. After Mardaani 2 (2019), fear and insecurity had started to eat away at me. I thought all that success would expose what I thought were shortcomings, and that brought with it even more fear about losing it all.” It came to a head when it was time to attend one of the glitziest film festivals in the world. “I was going to go with people who are well-travelled, speak well, and know so much more than me about cinema. I was worried about how I’d present myself because I don’t speak English fluently or know what cutlery to use,” he adds.

When the actor reached out to his Homebound director Neeraj Ghaywan for advice, he was reminded that he deserved to be on that world stage. “He told me that I was going to Cannes not because of my English speaking abilities or background, but because of my work,” Jethwa says. Eventually, it was what his older sister Dolly told him, in her trademark no-nonsense but deeply empathetic way, that pierced through this fog of panic: “Didi reminded me that we are children of a woman who worked as a house help. Both mummy and papa were not well-educated. So, we should be proud of how far we’ve come.” This was all he needed to hear to restore his confidence.

In the months since the nine- minute long-standing ovation that Homebound received during its world premiere at Cannes, the film has taken off like a jumbo jet. A searing portrait of marginalised youth, it is based on Basharat Peer’s 2020 New York Times essay, Taking Amrit Home. It follows two childhood friends, Mohammed Shoaib (Ishaan Khatter) and Jethwa’s Chandan Kumar, as they navigate their dreams of joining the police force against the backdrop of caste and religious tensions, and the despair brought by the pandemic lockdowns. With the legendary Martin Scorsese as the film’s executive producer, it
was named second runner-up for the Toronto International Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award. It is also India’s submission for the International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards. 
 

The screen rise 

At 31, Jethwa is an ascendant big- screen star with a career spanning close to a decade on TV. Barely in his teens, he joined a dance troupe that regularly performed on a reality talent show. Though he was making just enough pocket money and dancing behind the likes of actors Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar, he knew there was more. In a moment that could only be described as “filmi”, he walked out of that dance troupe and saw a hoarding for an acting class. He quickly graduated from performing plays on Mira Road train station to playing emperor Akbar on the TV show Bharat Ka Veer Putra–Maharana Pratap (2013–15). He went toe-to-toe with actor Rani Mukerji in his big screen debut as the sadistic Sunny Yadav in Mardaani 2, which earned him multiple Best Debut nominations.

Joining that acting class transformed Jethwa’s life, and it’s where he met his acting guru Shoaib Khan: “I met him at a stage when I was very unruly, and my life could have gone off the rails. Not only did he make me a good actor, he’s made me a good human being.” Through this journey, Khan’s been by the young actor’s side, including at the film’s glittering premiere in Mumbai.

Our conversation—conducted mostly in Hindi—features multiple mentions of Jethwa’s sister and mother, so it’s not surprising when he confesses to being a “mama’s boy”. The high point of his Homebound journey has been taking his mother to Cannes and Paris. “Seeing how happy my mother was at the end of the day was the most important thing for me.” 

Future ready 

Being grounded has helped Jethwa keep his bearings. Even as he collects airmiles and does brand shoots, the actor is conscious of the emotional high he is on. “I can feel that my mind is racing all the time, and my confidence has never been higher. While I am loving all the love that’s coming my way, I know that this is not natural and I need to find my balance.” His plan for when everything quietens is to take time off and meditate.

For now, though, he is enjoying every minute of this new-but-hard-won stardom—especially when it’s fashion-related. “Dressing up has also given me a lot of confidence. I am really excited to explore fashion as a source of self-expression. Remember how fearless Ranveer Singh used to be about how he dressed? That’s exactly how I feel right now when all these brands and designers want to dress me,” he says. Interestingly, Jethwa discovered this aspect of stardom as he walked down the Croisette, the seaside boulevard at Cannes, in a custom black suit with embellished power shoulders by Kaushik Velendra, a

London-based menswear designer. “We had decided on multiple looks, but thought that this specific suit with golden details on the shoulder might not go with the themes of the film. Then, we remembered that Cannes is as much about fashion as it is about films. Eka Lakhani, one of the best stylists in the industry, suggested that I should just go for it,” he says. Not only did the look turn heads, it helped Jethwa deal with imposter syndrome. “It was like I had put on an armour,” he adds with a laugh.

This article first appeared in Cosmopolitan India's November-December 2025 print edition.

Lead image: Homebound the film/Instagram 

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