Last year, while preparing entertainment news for ITV Gold in New Jersey, I came across a story about a Manipuri-language film called Boong. The headline immediately stood out—a debut feature produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s Excel Entertainment, directed by first-time filmmaker Lakshmipriya Devi, and already gaining global attention after a BAFTA win for Best Children’s and Family Film.
A brief TV news story I did at the time unexpectedly crossed 100,000 views, reflecting growing curiosity around the film—and my own interest only deepened from there.
That curiosity turned into anticipation when Boong was selected as the opening feature of the 26th New York Indian Film Festival.
I had even prepared questions for the director, Lakshmipriya Devi, but due to passport-related delays, she could not attend the festival. The film, however, arrived—and made a lasting impression.
From its opening moments, Boong draws the audience into the world of a spirited young boy from Manipur who refuses to accept that his missing father may never return.
Within the first minute, the theatre erupted in laughter as Boong uses a handmade slingshot—crafted by his father—to knock letters off a school signboard, instantly establishing him as mischievous, fearless, and full of imagination.
Played with striking charm by Gugun Kipgen, Boong is both playful and vulnerable. He lives with his resilient mother, portrayed by Bala Hijam, and quietly dreams of bringing his missing father home as a surprise gift for her.
With his loyal best friend Raju, he sets off toward Moreh, the border town between India and Myanmar, convinced he can find answers himself.
What follows is a road journey that blends humor, adventure, and emotional discovery. The film shifts effortlessly between laughter, tension, and quiet moments of tenderness, always seen through the eyes of children who are far more capable—and far more fragile—than they realize.
At its core, Boong succeeds because it never condescends to its characters or manipulates its audience. Instead, it allows humor, friendship, loss, and hope to coexist naturally.
The setting adds another layer of depth. Manipur is portrayed with striking beauty and cultural richness, but also as a region marked by recent unrest. The filmmakers later revealed that violent clashes erupted shortly after filming ended, affecting several people connected to the production—a reality that deepens the film’s emotional resonance.
Boong is not just a story about a boy searching for his father. It is a story about belonging, home, and identity—and about a region that is too often underrepresented in mainstream cinema.
At the New York Indian Film Festival screening, the response was visibly emotional. Members of the Manipuri community in the audience reacted with pride and connection to the story.
For me, Boong stands out as one of the most memorable opening films the festival has presented in recent years.
It is funny without excess, emotional without sentimentality, and quietly powerful without ever becoming preachy. Rooted in its local world, it still speaks to universal human experience.
While the BAFTA recognition has brought international attention to the film, what stays with you is not the award—but the honesty of its storytelling and the emotional truth of its characters.
Some of the most affecting stories do not come from large budgets or global campaigns. Sometimes they come from a small town in Manipur, carried by a child with a slingshot, a question, and a dream—and those are the stories that linger longest.
Parikh Worldwide Media is the largest Indian-American publishing group in the United States. The group publishes five periodicals – “News India Times,” a national weekly newspaper; “Desi Talk in New York,” a weekly newspaper serving the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut region; and “Desi Talk in Chicago,” a weekly newspaper serving the Greater Chicago area and the Midwestern states; and “The Indian American,” a national online quarterly feature magazine, and the Gujarat Times, a Gujarati language weekly. The combined circulation and readership of these publications make the media group the most influential in the ethnic Indian market.
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