Sometime between the last canapé being cleared in London and the first cutting chai being poured in Mumbai, Indian cinema made history. And not the polite, golf clap kind. The kind that jolts group chats awake.
Boong, a Manipuri language coming-of-age drama directed by debutant Lakshmipriya Devi, just became the first Indian film to win a BAFTA Award. Best Children’s and Family Film at the 79th BAFTAs. Yes, that BAFTA. And yes, it beat Disney’s Lilo & Stitch and Zootopia 2. Let that marinate.
If you were online this morning, you saw it unfold in real time. Film Twitter is doing victory laps. Instagram stories switching from fashion week fits to screenshots of the win. Suddenly, everyone had always “loved” Boong.
Which is precisely the point actor Vikram Kochhar is making.
Kochhar, the only recognisable Bollywood face in the film, has been refreshingly candid in interviews today. “Extremely elating,” he called the win. But he followed it with something sharper. It is sad, he said, that we are celebrating the film only after the West recognized it.
That line hit because it is not just about one film. Boong had a limited release in September 2025. It struggled for screens. In cities like Hyderabad and Bengaluru, some shows were reportedly cancelled because minimum ticket sales were not met. No shows. For a BAFTA winner. Let that irony sink in.
And now? Producers are actively discussing a theatrical re-release in India. OTT platforms are cirating. The same film that was hard to find a few months ago is suddenly a hot property.
Welcome to the global validation effect.
Boong tells the story of a young boy who travels across the Manipur-Myanmar border to find his absentee father, hoping to surprise his mother. It is intimate, regional, and rooted. The kind of film that trades spectacle for sincerity. Backed by Excel Entertainment, the banner run by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani, along with Chalkboard Entertainment and Suitable Pictures, it never had the marketing muscle of a tentpole. What it had was heart and specificity.
Kochhar leaned all the way in. He learned Manipuri for the role. He was filming in Moreh, a border town that would see violence break out just a week after the shoot wrapped. That detail alone gives the film an added layer of urgency. It captures a place on the cusp, a story told before headlines turned darker again.
And then there is the career gamble.
Kochhar revealed that he turned down a high-profile advertisement offered by Rajkumar Hirani that would have featured him alongside Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi. In an industry where visibility is currency, that is not a casual no. That is choosing a small, uncertain film over prime time brand recall.
Fans are clocking that. Because in an era where actors are constantly negotiating scale and spotlight, backing a debut director from Manipur over a glossy ad campaign feels like a statement.
Meanwhile, the national mood has shifted to celebration. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the team on social media, calling it a moment of immense joy for the nation and for Manipur. Amul, the ultimate pop culture barometer, dropped a topical featuring the Boong characters. If you make it into an Amul illustration, you have officially entered Indian cultural lore.
But the bigger conversation is about access and appetite.
Why did it take a British trophy for many Indian viewers to discover this film? Why do regional, independent films so often need international laurels before they are granted domestic attention?
The industry loves to talk about pan-India cinema. But Boong is a reminder that true inclusivity is not just about dubbing blockbusters into multiple languages. It is about giving smaller stories oxygen before the world tells us they matter.
The BAFTA win does more than decorate a trophy shelf. It repositions Manipuri cinema in the national imagination. It spotlights Lakshmipriya Devi as a new voice to watch. It reframes Vikram Kochhar not just as a reliable character actor, but as someone willing to bet on conviction over convenience.
And for fans, it is a rare, satisfying underdog arc. The film that could not secure steady shows in multiplexes now stands shoulder to shoulder with global animation giants. The boy who crossed a border in fiction just helped Indian cinema cross one in reality.
If the re-release happens, expect a very different turnout. Expect sold-out shows, think pieces, maybe even that one friend who swears they “saw it first.” That is how these stories go.
But maybe this time, the afterglow lasts longer. Maybe exhibitors take a second look at regional indies. Maybe audiences scroll a little less and show up a little more.
Because if Boong has proved anything, it is this. Sometimes the quietest films make the loudest noise. And sometimes, the world has to clap before we remember to listen.
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Zayn blends critical thinking with genuine fandom. Whether it’s decoding OTT series arcs or rating the latest Bollywood blockbuster, he writes with clarity, pop fluency, and a dash of irreverence.
