From Manipur to a BAFTA Stage — Boong Just Made History for Indian Cinema

Not all victories come loud. Sometimes they arrive softly — in a mother tongue, with trembling hands, on one of the world's biggest stages. That's exactly what happened on February…

By Reetam Bodhak

February 23, 2026

3 min read

Comments

Not all victories come loud. Sometimes they arrive softly — in a mother tongue, with trembling hands, on one of the world’s biggest stages. That’s exactly what happened on February 22, 2026, when a small Manipuri film called Boong walked away with the BAFTA Award for Best Children’s and Family Film at the prestigious 79th British Academy Film Awards in London.

And yes, India absolutely deserves to celebrate this one.

BAFTA Film, the Win & the Team Behind It

Boong is a deeply personal coming-of-age drama written and directed by Laxmipriya Devi, backed by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s production powerhouse Excel Entertainment. The film tells the quietly powerful story of a young schoolboy named Boong, who battles through the conflict and racial tensions gripping Manipur in a desperate bid to reunite his family.

When Laxmipriya Devi took the podium alongside Farhan and Ritesh to accept the award, she began her speech in her native Manipuri language — a poetic echo of India’s presence at the ceremony, just as Alia Bhatt had opened her presenter speech in Hindi moments earlier. Devi described the walk to the stage as feeling like the last few steps to a mountain summit she never knew her team was climbing. She also used the moment to pray for peace to return to her homeland, Manipur.

BAFTA Film Facts

Detail	Info
Film Title	Boong
Language	Manipuri
Director/Writer	Laxmipriya Devi
Producers	Farhan Akhtar & Ritesh Sidhwani (Excel Entertainment)
BAFTA Award	Best Children’s and Family Film
World Premiere	TIFF 2024 – Discovery Section (Sep 5, 2024)
India Theatrical Release	September 19, 2025

Why This Win Feels So Special

Boong premiered at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival in September 2024 under the Discovery section — a nod to its fresh, authentic voice. It then released in select cinemas in India in September 2025. But it was never a “big budget” film. It was a deeply human one, rooted in a region that — as the director herself noted on stage — is often “troubled, ignored, and underrepresented” in mainstream Indian cinema.

For a Manipuri-language film produced by an Indian studio to win a BAFTA in London? That’s not just a win for the team — it’s a win for every regional filmmaker in India who has a story worth telling but doesn’t have a mainstream platform to tell it.

For more Bollywood and award season updates, explore our BAFTA 2026 full coverage on TechnoSports and our roundup of India’s biggest moments at global film festivals.

FAQs

**Q: Who directed the BAFTA-winning film Boong?**

Boong was written and directed by Laxmipriya Devi, and produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s Excel Entertainment under their banner.

**Q: What is the story of Boong about?**

It follows a young Manipuri schoolboy navigating conflict and racial tensions in his homeland, driven by one goal — to reunite his family against all odds.