Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has extended his congratulations to the creators of the coming-of-age story Boong, following its victory at the BAFTA awards in the Children and Family category this past Sunday.
“Congratulations to everyone involved in this project. This achievement is a great source of pride, particularly for the people of Manipur. It also showcases the vast pool of creative talent we have in our country,” stated the leader of the Hindu nationalist party.
Directed by Indian filmmaker Lakshmipriya Devi, Boong is her debut feature film. It tells the poignant tale of a young boy puzzled about his father’s disappearance, set against the complex backdrop of ethnic strife in Manipur, a northeastern state of India.
The filming in Manipur concluded in 2023, mere weeks before a violent clash erupted between the Meitei and the Kuki-Zo tribal communities near the Myanmar border. This conflict has resulted in hundreds of fatalities and displaced over 60,000 inhabitants.
The film’s unexpected win in the Children and Family category came as a surprise, especially considering its competition included well-known films such as Lilo & Stitch, Zootropolis 2, and the Oscar-nominated Arco, which had previously received accolades at several prestigious festivals and awards.
Industry experts and journalists were initially baffled by the win, as Boong had not been prominently featured in this year’s awards circuit. The film had its world premiere at the Toronto Discovery sidebar in 2024 and saw limited theatrical releases in both India and the UK.
In its second year as part of the BAFTA Film Awards, the Children and Family award was determined by a 13-member jury panel, who also selected the long-list and nominees. Other films considered at the long-list stage included Elio, Grow, How to Train Your Dragon, and Little Amelie.
This year’s winner, though unexpected, may prompt renewed discussions about the criteria and selection process for this category, especially following last year’s controversy when Paddington In Peru was omitted from the long-list.
Boong was produced by Mumbai’s Excel Entertainment, co-owned by Bollywood actor Farhan Akhtar and producer Ritesh Sidhwani, and distributed in the UK by the boutique label Bakrania Media.
It is not the first time a film directed by an Indian has won a BAFTA. Director Shekhar Kapur’s Elizabeth received the award for Best Outstanding Film in 1998, and in 2008, Resul Pookutty and A.R. Rahman won for Best Sound and Original Music respectively for Slumdog Millionaire. Additionally, several Indian talents have been nominated, including Ritesh Batra, Anurag Kashyap, Guneet Monga, and Arun Rangachari for The Lunchbox in 2014 and Adarsh Gourav for best actor in The White Tiger in 2020.
Recently, the UK and India have announced initiatives to enhance collaboration between their film industries. During a trade visit to India last October, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer revealed that Indian studio Yash Raj Films would be shooting three major films in the UK in the near future, while the British Film Institute (BFI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with India’s National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).
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