3 min readMumbaiMar 6, 2026 05:30 AM IST
Even though after winning the BAFTA award, Boong has been making waves for being the first Manipuri film to win such a major honour, its writer-director Lakshmipriya Devi makes it clear that many of her predecessors have received international recognition in the past.
Calling out the general lack of awareness regarding the North-East region and its people, she said: “Everyone in the North-East hates being called a Northeastern person.”
Naming some of the movies that have enjoyed global acclaim, Lakshmipriya said: “The movies by Rima Das have travelled to international festivals and won several awards. The 1981 Manipuri film, Imagi Ningthem (My Son, My Precious), directed by Aribam Syam Sharma, was screened at a number of film festivals.
His 1990 film Ishanou (The Chosen One) was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival. Its restored version was featured in the Cannes Classic section in 2023.” Both Imagi Ningthem and Ishanou were written by the late M K Binodini Devi, who was Lakshmipriya’s maternal aunt. “She always told me that I did not do anything related to Manipur. Had she been alive, she would have been very happy to watch Boong.”
Lakshmipriya was speaking at a press conference in the city, ahead of the theatrical re-release of Boong in select Indian cities Friday (March 6).
Though the film is set in Manipur, Lakshmipriya clarifies that she did not consciously try to “prop up its Manipuri identity”. However, the story that’s heavily inspired by her experiences and memories of her growing up years in Manipur.
“My grandfather used to yearn for his father who was in exile in Myanmar. Over the years, my great grandfather had become a mythical figure. Everyone at home used to talk about him and they had their own takes about what happened to him. Though I was young, I was quite fascinated with it. Boong is symbolic of all those people who are left behind,” the writer-director said.
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Boong (which means a little boy) follows the adventures of the titular young boy, who plans to surprise his mother with a gift. Accompanied by his friend Raju, Boong sets out to bring his absentee father home to make his mother happy. Gugun Kipgen, who essays the role of Boong, was also present during the press conference.
Describing the making of her debut feature film Boong as a “series of unplanned happy accidents”, Lakshmipriya said: “In Manipur, we have this thing called shaman where you get possessed. Making of this film possessed us. We did not have anything planned. Boong had its own journey.”
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