Short read: Boong: A Childhood Betrayed, a State Forsaken

Understanding languages and cultures from different parts of India are one of life’s great pleasures. And for those of who have never had the good fortune of visiting Manipur, Lakshmipriya Devi’s award-winning movie ‘Boong’ is a gift from God (or from the ‘Devi’).

Whilst notionally Boong is a children’s movie, in reality it is – in reviewer Tatsam Mukherjee’s words – an exploration of the plurality of the Northeast’s super rich and multi-layered culture and of its challenges: “…the way Devi integrates the plurality of her home state through elements – a Madonna fan club, a transwoman exotic dancer, Krishna devotees, Christian burials – all coexisting in harmony. Boong’s search for his father then ultimately becomes a metaphor for a whole state’s people in search of belonging. As Manipur continues to witness civil unrest, with scant mainstream conversation and no noticeable effort to mitigate the conflict, it’s hard not to see Devi’s film as a reminder of a forsaken state.”

The standout stars in this movie are Brojendro ‘Boong’ Singh (Gugun Kipgen), his best friend, Raju (Angom Sanamatum) and Boong’s mother, Mandakini (Bala Hijam). Credit should also go to Excel Entertainment. Had Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani not produced and distributed Boong, us folks sitting in our air-conditioned offices in Mumbai would have continued watching Bollywood movies exhibiting sub-continental men displaying extraordinary levels of machismo.

Watching Boong in a Mumbai-multiplex with Manipuri women cheering both Lakshmipriya Devi’s much-deserved success and the breathtakingly beautiful culture of the state and of the Indo-Burmese border area is a life affirming experience that you might want to avail of. And by the way, the ticket costs only Rs 100 even in Mumbai’s swankiest multiplexes.

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