UPSC Prelims 2026 Q85: Manipuri Film 'Boong' and BAFTA — Explained
Consider the following statements with regard to the film 'Boong':
1. The film has recently won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award in the Children's and Family Film category.
2. The film is directed by Lakshmipriya Devi.
3. This is the first Indian film to win a BAFTA award in the Children's and Family Film category.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1, 2 and 3
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 2 only
- 3 only
Answer: (a) 1, 2 and 3
Statement-wise explanation
- 1: correct — Boong won Best Children's & Family Film at the 79th British Academy Film Awards (EE BAFTA Film Awards). The ceremony was held at the Royal Festival Hall, London, on 22 February 2026. It beat Arco, Lilo & Stitch and Zootropolis 2. The Prime Minister's congratulatory message was released through PIB on 23 February 2026.
- 2: correct — Boong was written and directed by Lakshmipriya Devi, and it is her first feature film. It is a Manipuri (Meiteilon) film about a schoolboy in Imphal who goes looking for his missing father. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and NFDC congratulated her by name after the win.
- 3: correct — BAFTA added the Children's & Family Film category only recently. Its first winner, at the 78th Awards, was Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. Boong is only the second winner and the first Indian film to win it. No earlier Indian film could have won, so 'first' is safe here.
How to eliminate
This question can only be solved by knowing the news. The fact to remember: Boong, a Manipuri film directed by Lakshmipriya Devi, won BAFTA's Children's & Family Film award in February 2026, and it was the first Indian winner. Option structure gives some help. Statement 3 is in every option except one, and Statements 1 and 3 depend on each other. If Boong won the award (Statement 1), it was almost certainly the first Indian film to do so, because the category was only two editions old (Statement 3). If you knew it won and who directed it, the remaining choice was between '1 and 2 only' and '1, 2 and 3'. A category this new makes 'first Indian' very likely true. UPSC current-affairs questions on a well-reported 'first' win also tend to have every statement correct.
Know more
BAFTA and Indian cinema on the global stage
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is a UK arts charity. It began in 1947 as the British Film Academy. Its annual Film Awards in London are seen as an important signal for the Oscars, which come a few weeks later.
The Children's & Family Film category is new. It was first given at the 78th Awards (for 2024 releases).
| Edition | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 78th BAFTA (2025) | Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl | UK |
| 79th BAFTA (22 Feb 2026) | Boong | India |
About Boong
- Language: Manipuri (Meiteilon). Director: Lakshmipriya Devi (her first feature).
- Producers include Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani (Excel Entertainment).
- World premiere: Toronto International Film Festival, September 2024.
- Story: a schoolboy in Imphal searches for his missing father, against the background of unrest in Manipur.
Government support behind the film
- Film Bazaar (run by NFDC alongside IFFI, Goa): Boong was part of its Work-in-Progress Lab and Film Bazaar Recommends in 2023.
- IFFI 2024 (55th edition): it competed in the Best Debut Director section.
Watch the word 'first'. Slumdog Millionaire won seven BAFTAs in 2009, including one for A.R. Rahman's music. However, it was a British production. Boong is an Indian film that won a film award in its own right. Questions on 'firsts' often hinge on this difference between a film's nationality and an individual Indian winning.
Related bodies: NFDC (under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting) runs Film Bazaar and, since 2022, also manages the NFAI film archive.
In the news
Boong won the BAFTA on 22 February 2026, three months before Prelims (24 May 2026). It was widely reported as India's first win in the category, and both the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting/NFDC put out congratulatory releases through PIB.