- Boong won the Best Childrens and Family Film award at the BAFTA 2026 ceremony
- Lakshmipriya Devi made her directorial debut with the film Boong
- The film is produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani under Excel Entertainment
The Manipuri-language film Boong won the Best Children's and Family Film award at the BAFTA 2026 ceremony. Backed by Farhan Akhtar, the emotional drama was competing against Arco, Lilo & Stitch, and Zootropolis 2. Director Lakshmipriya Devi accepted the award on behalf of their team.
During her acceptance speech, Lakshmipriya paid homage to her home state of Manipur. The filmmaker spoke about the jarring situation in Manipur, where recent unrest has led to widespread displacement and disruption.
Here are 10 key points on the BAFTA-winning film Boong.
- Boong marks the directorial debut of Lakshmipriya Devi. She previously worked as an assistant director on films like Lakshya and PK.
- The movie is produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani under the Excel Entertainment banner alongside Chalkboard Entertainment and Suitable Pictures.
- The plot follows a young boy named Boong, who wants to reunite his family. He believes bringing his missing father home would make his mother happy again. With the help of his best friend, Boong travels to the border town of Moreh and even crosses into Myanmar in search of his father.
- Boong stars child actor Gugun Kipgen in the title role. He is a Kuki-Zo tribal boy playing a Meitei character. The supporting cast features Bala Hijam Ningthoujam as his mother, Mandakini, and Angom Sanamatum as his best friend, Raju.
- While the film is a coming-of-age adventure, it subtly explores heavy socio-political issues, including racial tension, insurgency, identity politics and LGBTQ+ discrimination in Manipur.
- According to Hollywood Reporter India, the movie was shot in 2023. The production finished just a week before major ethnic violence erupted in Manipur.
- Boong premiered in the prestigious Discovery section of the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. It was also screened at the International Film Festival of India, the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, the Warsaw International Film Festival and the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.
- Beyond its BAFTA success, Boong won Excellence in Feature Filmmaking at the International South Asian Film Festival in Canada, Best Youth Film at the 17th Asia Pacific Screen Awards in Australia and earned a Best Actor (Special Mention) for lead Gugun Kipgen at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.
- Director Lakshmipriya Devi describes the film as a tribute to her homeland, inspired by her grandmother's folk tales and her own childhood memories of Manipur.
- After Bafta win, Farhan Akhtar said, “Lakshmipriya Devi and I have known each other for about 20 years. This film is set in a region of India from which we rarely get to watch films. It was nice to support that as well, and it's a very heartwarming story. So, it just felt right.”
- The film had a select theatrical release in India on September 19, 2025.
