Boong has come a long way—from a personal journal to winning the Best Children’s and Family Film at the 79th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA). Directed by Lakshmipriya Devi, the film has transcended its origins as a family fable from Manipur to capture global imaginations.
In an interview with Forbes India, Devi discusses the “urban folklore” of her childhood and the grit required to shoot in a region where petrol shortages and blockades often dictate production schedules. Meanwhile, Ritesh Sidhwani of Excel Entertainment offers a producer’s perspective on the shifting economics of the Indian film industry, from the “under-screened” reality of the domestic market to the growing appetite for non-diaspora international audiences.
Devi and Sidhwani also talk about how this story of a young boy in Manipur found universal resonance, proving that authenticity remains the most powerful currency in global cinema. Edited excerpts:
Q. How was Boong conceptualised?
Lakshmipriya Devi (LP): The story was brewing in my head for a very long time because we had a family fable about a great-grandfather who went to Burma in exile. Everybody had their own take and opinion about what happened to him. And it always fascinated me, but I never thought of it as a story on which to make a film. But I think it happened at a point where I was looking for a lot of closures in my life vis-a-vis Manipur and home. And I just penned this down, literally like a journal. I didn’t think that it was going to be made into a film. I just wanted it out of my system. But luckily it became a film and directing it was a huge bonus.
Q. What made Excel back this project?
Ritesh Sidhwani (RS): To be honest, it’s like any other story you read, whether it’s some of the films from our body of work [or not]; as long as there is some kind of an emotional connect, you feel it, you want to see it being translated from paper to a visual experience. Having worked with LP gave me the assurance. And it was such a beautiful story, so fresh, so new, and I knew where she’s coming from. Our job is to tell stories. We can’t be deciding what will work, what will not work, what is going to be commercially successful, because I don’t think that’s the way to look at it. A story needs to be told, and it’ll find its own audience. The story was just amazing when she narrated it to us.
Q. You’ve said the story was inspired by your grandmother’s folktales. Tell us more about it.
LP: We have a lot of Manipuri folktales. It could be about a cat who’s trying to kill a family of birds. But it always has a moral. It caters to children, but I found those stories very comforting. As you know, Manipur is a troubled land. So, to live in that kind of a fantasy world that my grandmother created made me feel very safe. Boong is like an urban folklore, it may have happened, may not have happened. But I wanted something like my grandmother’s tales.
Q. Boong became the first Manipuri film to be screened at a PVR Inox theatre, and it had to add more shows because of demand. Are you happy with its box office collection? Has its reception changed your perception about audience preferences or the way you look at film projects?
LP: No. For me, a film can be in any language as long as it connects [with viewers]. And that is a strong desire coming from a place where the theatres were shut down because of the ban on Indian movies. Everything that I have a good memory of, is from my childhood. I remember the experience of watching a film inside a hall, which is like a collective experience; you go with families to watch films. And deep in my heart, I really wanted that and Ritesh, Farhan, Vikesh and Alan [producers of Excel entertainment] made it happen.
I really don’t know about the box office collection. I’m not into figures. The most fulfilling thing for me was that nobody knows about the Northeast of India and the fact that they’re watching something that is completely new to them. I think for them it was like watching [something from] South Korea. So, I think the response of people, not just from the Northeast, but from everywhere else who feel like they have seen something new, has been the payback for me.
RS: We are actually the most under screened country in the world. We don’t have screens where there is demand. There is data PIN code wise, where there is demand but the nearest theatre is a 55-minute drive away. China and India, in 2010, had the same number of screens. In seven years since then, China opened 35,000 screens, all in tier 2 and 3 cities. So, more than the box office for this film… the purpose was to do something with the film to give it the right noise after the critical acclaim.
Q. Has your production company’s financial model evolved in response to the rapid rise of streaming platforms?
RS: The format for streaming is very different. The writing itself is different; you write characters that don’t need to necessarily end in 2 hours. You can go on with them for multi-seasons. I think that’s a really interesting place. We did a movie called Songs of Paradise, which was based in Kashmir about the singer Raj Begum. It’s a great film. Can we just do a premiere? Rather than going theatrical, we said, it’s fine as long as you give it the right platform. There is an opportunity.
But I think for that first the number of screens need to increase. Because even if your movie does well, the next weekend, if there’s something big coming, you’ll be given such bad show timings that it’s not inviting enough for people to come. But if you ask me, I would honestly like to make films only for the theatrical community.
Q. You have said that it is more costly shooting in Manipur than it is shooting in Thailand. What kind of budget constraints did you have?
LP: When I said it’s cheaper to shoot in Thailand than in Manipur, it’s because the one-way ticket to Manipur is more expensive than a return ticket [to Thailand]. And the state always has blockades and bans. So, you don’t have petrol… there’s always a petrol shortage. We spent more money on stuff like this than on the film. And because we were spending on things like lodging and travel, everything else was literally borrowed. Like most of the costumes were from our homes. We borrowed wood from people whose homes were getting dismantled, to build fences. We had to work around [constraints] because we didn’t have money. The crew obviously had to stay, and that was expensive. We had to figure out other ways of making it work without spending.
RS: Filmmaking is a challenging job. I’ve shot in Leh and Ladakh for Lakshya. At that time, in 2003, even if you had the budget, you didn’t have hotels to stay in. We had 10 or 11 hotels for the crew. You didn’t have one place where you can put 200 people. The weather was a challenge, and getting food because the mountain pass would close. That’s what we love. We survive under these conditions, under chaos and make movies. And I think it all works out.
Q. Excel has several critically acclaimed films in its kitty, but it has been a while since a commercial blockbuster.
RS: We did have Madgaon Express which was a huge hit. We had some which did not work. I think it’s the budget that decides what is commercially successful. Fukrey did five times its budget at the box office itself. It’s a huge thing. So, I just feel it all depends on the content, but you cannot ever predict.
Q. Does the critical and commercial success of Boong drum up commercial interest in small town film industries?
LP: I don’t know whether you can say that for sure, but I hope it does. I want to forget the word ‘commercial’ because at least it will give people an opportunity to make films that can go for festivals and maybe even get a release. I hope it inspires them to tell stories beyond their comfort zones.
Q. There’s a global for Indian films, which is also important for their financial success. What are the factors you keep in mind to ensure a film has a global appeal, or does that matter at all?
RS: When we did Superboys of Malegaon we consciously started marketing it to a non-diaspora as well. We thought it’s got a story that can be told. Even when Dil Chahta Hai was made, the overseas market was still as big. If the Indian box office has grown, so has the overseas market. So, I feel it’s your diaspora which you’re getting.
Because of streaming a lot more people are now aware of Indian cinema, whether it’s Manipuri, South Indian, North Indian. If you go on to some of the streaming platforms the number one, two and three shows are non-English. I feel it’ll be easier now to market a film even outside your diaspora. There will be interest, but it’ll all depend on what kind of film it is. It has to give them something.
First Published: Feb 24, 2026, 19:59
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