A MANIPURI FILM WON BAFTA

Lakshmipriya Devi’s “Boong” just made a milestone achievement by clinching the Best Children’s and Family Film BAFTA, 2026. The film is produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s Excel Entertainment, weaving an intimate and powerful regional storytelling craft with Manipur as the centre stage.

Back in 2024, Boong premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. It has received positive acclaim from film experts and a wide audience and was also selected as the “Spotlight Film” at the IIFM in 2025. The cast of the film includes household names of Manipuri cinema, such as Bala Hijam, Shadananda Hamom, and Jenny Khurai, as well as child actor Gugun Kipgen, who plays the main protagonist. Boong tells a deeply personal story about a young boy searching for his long-lost father. In his journey of navigating hope and tranquillity, a subtle representation of Manipur's political mirror emerges.

Devi intricately attempts to mirror the geo-political affairs and the complicated nature of the state by embedding powerful scenes and dialogues that seem very ordinary but are thought-provoking in their intelligence. Manipur’s hope to find closure from its fractured politics, ruptured identity, and torn representation comes to life in a complex bubble shaped as an emotional quest through Boong’s character. Devi has created a timeless masterpiece in this.

As Devi walked up the stage for the historic moment, the thrill carried the heaviness of the state still awaiting a chance for reconciliation and harmony. Her historic speech clung towards “hope” as she expressed, “I pray for peace to return to Manipur” and the win as a “homage to my homeland”. The message is clear, strong, and daunting, reflecting resilience against chaos and aggression as Manipur remains a conflict-ridden state since May of 2023. As per the report, around 60,000 people are internally displaced, with many sheltering at relief camps across the state at present.