The 79th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) took place on Sunday, February 22, 2026, in London and the Indian Manipuri film Boong, produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani, and directed by Lakshmipriya Devi, was nominated in the Best Children's & Family Film award category. Well, making the country proud, the film won the award, beating nominees like Lilo & Stitch, Zootopia 2, and Arco.
After winning the award, while talking to Deadline, Farhan 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." Watch the video below...
Boong stars Gugun Kipgen, Bala Hijam, Angom Sanamatum, Vikram Kochhar, Nemetia Ngangbam, Jenny Khurai and Hamom Sadananda.
Before BAFTA, the film had won awards at International South Asian Film Festival 2024, 17th Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2024, and Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2025.
Boong Director Lakshmipriya Devi Speaks About Manipur Violence At BAFTA 2026
In her winning speech, Devi mentioned the unrest in Manipur. She said, "Khurumjari! Greetings to everyone. The walk up till here felt like the last few steps to reach the summit of a mountain we never knew we were climbing in the first place. So, thank you to the jury members and BAFTA for giving our very small film such a big love. A film that is not only rooted in a place which is very troubled, very much ignored, and very unrepresented in India, my homeland, Manipur."
The filmmaker further stated, "So, just want to use this opportunity to say that we pray for peace to return to Manipur. We pray that all the internally displaced children, including the child actors in the film, regain their joy, their innocence, and their dreams once again. So, thank you, BAFTA, for giving us not only an award, but this stage to express our hope. Thank you, and have a wonderful evening everyone."
