Boong director Lakshmipriya Devi reveals she could not watch her film's footage for months: ‘I would break down’

Lakshmipriya Devi, the director of Boong, India's first BAFTA-winning film, has revealed she broke down repeatedly while editing the footage — because the locations she had filmed in had been destroyed by the ethnic conflict raging through Manipur.

Boong director Lakshmipriya Devi broke down while editing the film

Lakshmipriya Devi, speaking to PTI, said it took months before she could watch her own material. “I could not edit the film for a very long time. I would break down every time I would see the footage. Knowing that the entire second half of the film was shot in places that were now in rubble... it affected me. It took a couple of months before I could look at the footage objectively from a distance.”

Boong last month became the first Indian film to win a BAFTA, taking the Best Children's and Family Film award at the 79th ceremony in London, beating Hollywood titles including Lilo & Stitch and Zootopia 2.

The film follows a young boy in Manipur who travels with his best friend to find his absent father, his journey taking him from the hills of the region to the border town of Moreh and across into Myanmar.

Devi spent years as a first assistant director on major Indian productions — among them PK, Talaash and A Suitable Boy — before Boong marked her debut behind the camera. She has said she never set out to become a director, describing the film as "a sum total of my life experiences."

Despite its subject matter, Devi has firmly resisted the label of political filmmaker. "This is not a political film. It is the story of a boy who lives in a place where these kinds of things happen. If somebody thinks it's political, it's their perspective," she said, noting that the cast and crew drew from different ethnicities across Manipur yet maintained a spirit of community throughout production.

On the BAFTA recognition, Devi said she remains cautious about what it can achieve. “With film festivals like BAFTA, at least the first step of awareness has been created, which is like giving people the idea that, 'Hey, there's a place called Manipur and films like this are outside of Bollywood indie', but beyond that it's up to audiences to take that knowledge forward and apply it.”

As for her own next steps, she says she intends to keep her head down. "I want to go back more under the radar after this and not let this get to me."

Boong received a wider re-release in Indian cinemas following its BAFTA win.