Beyond the borders of Bollywood: Why Boong’s BAFTA win is India’s true cinematic watershed

It is truly a watershed moment for Indian cinema as the Manipuri film Boong earns its place in the pages of history. Directed by Lakshmipriya Devi and co-produced by Farhan Akhtar’s Excel Entertainment, the small film from Manipur about a little boy in search of his missing father beat big commercial giants like Zootopia 2 and Lilo & Stitch to earn the Best Children’s and Family Film at the BAFTA film awards on Sunday night.

While the film brings laurels to Indian cinema at large, being the first Indian production to win a BAFTA award and also the first Indian film ever to win in this category, Boong’s win should be seen as a turning point for Indian cinema at large from a global perspective.

About Boong

A coming-of-age film, Boong is set in rural Manipur, where a boy embarks on a journey to find his estranged father and reunite him with his mother. The film poignantly highlights the troubled times we live in, the man made broders that divide people, and also delves into the insider vs outsider debate in a tense landscape like Manipur’s. The film stars child actors Gugun Kipgen and Angom Sanamatumas the lead protagonists and is a heartwarming story of discovery, learning, acceptance and more.

Directed by Lakshmipriya Devi and produced by Farhan Akhtar, Vikesh Bhutani, Alan McAlex, Ritesh Sidhwani and Shujaat Saudagar- Boong first premiered at the Discovery section of the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival on 5 September 2024. It got a limited theatrical release in India in 2025 and won critical acclaim.

The classic underdog story

What makes Boong’s win so special? It is the classic underdog story. The sheer nomination for the small film, made on a modest budget at the BAFTAs, which is often considered the British Oscars, was an achievement in itself. No one, perhaps, could have envisioned that film would fetch India its first BAFTA, considering it was pitted against Hollywood commercial giants like Zootopia 2 and Lilo& Stitch- both backed by big studios, with fancy VFX, were box office hits.

Boong’s win highlighted that at BAFTAs, story and content won over the commercial razzmatazz.

Manipur: Beyond the headlines

As Boong director Lakshipriya Devi rightly pointed out, the film represented a state like Manipuri that is often overlooked, ignored and grossly misrepresented in the mainstream. Often referred to as the generic North-East, Manipur’s culture and ethos are widely unknown to people in the rest of India.

A conflicted state for years now, Devi’s plea for peace, especially for displaced children of Manipur during her winning speech, has once again brought focus to the conflicted areas of the state. In Manipur, there has been a ban on Hindi films for months now and Boong’s win will be seen as a victory for the people and their culture, which is unknown due to politics and the dominance of Hindi cinema.

The ‘New Wave’ of Indian Regional Cinema

Boong’s win should be seen as a win for Indian cinema. Beyond Bollywood, Indian cinema and talent are now getting noticed through International Film Festivals and Awards. Be it Rima Das’ Assamese film Not A Hero, which won a Crystal Bear Special Mention at Berlinale, or SS Rajamouli’s mammoth RRR in Telugu that made the world dance or now Boong, a small Manipuri film, cinema lovers globally are now looking beyond Bollywood and noticing Indian cinema and its talents.

Language is no longer a barrier, and Boong’s win is a testament to that fact. A Manipuri-language film has managed to capture a British audience, proving that the more specific a story is, the more universal it becomes.

Innocence in Conflict

Boong also manages to move out of the international lens of ‘poverty porn’ and instead focuses on a more innocent, pure-at-heart human story. It is simply not a story of just a boy wanting to ‘gift’ his father to his mom, but so much more. It touches upon the themes of family, hope, and the resilient spirit of children.

A woman’s middas touch

Guneet Monga was not completely wrong when she said that the future of Indian cinema in women when she won her Oscar for Best Short Film at the Oscars 2023 along with filmmaker Kartiki Gonsalves. Last year, Payal Kapadia and her film All We Imagine As Light dominated global film festivals and awards. This year, it’s a woman again who has taken Indian cinema to the global stage.

Do we need the validation of the West, though? Perhaps for smaller films like Boong, a BAFTA win is pertinent. After all, how else would a cinema lover sitting in Lucknow or Delhi get to know about a Manipuri film about a little boy and his big search for his missing father?