Trauma of displacement will always remain, especially for Manipur’s kids

Lakshmipriya Devi wears her BAFTA win lightly, speaking with the same disarming simplicity that runs through Boong, her debut feature that got her the award recently. The film, about a schoolboy’s search for his missing father, wrapped up just weeks before ethnic clashes erupted in Manipur. Devi talks to Mohua Das about writing the story like her ten-year-old self, and the joy of finally doing something for her stateWhat has been the response to the win, especially in your hometown in Manipur?It has brought a lot of joy and people are looking forward to it. They’ve already started lining up at theatres. I’m excited for them to see it, especially the people from Moreh. Many Manipuri and Assamese films have gone to major festivals before, like Ishanou (1990) and Imagi Ningthem (1981). Both were written by my aunt, Binodini Devi, whom I admired greatly. She used to tell me, ‘You never do anything for Manipur.’ I wish she were alive today. She would have been very happy that I finally did something.In your speech you mentioned “internally displaced children, including the child actors in the film”. How have they been affected?Not just the child actors in the film, but every child who has been displaced is handling it badly. Akhu (Chingangbam), the film’s music director and line producer, works with children in camps, teaching them music to help them cope with their trauma. If you are suddenly uprooted from your house and thrown into a room the size of a small hall with sixty other people, how would you feel? Especially when you are a kid. It has affected Gugun (who plays the character of Boong) really badly because I don’t think he can ever go back to his home. The trauma will always be there. Larger tensions seep into the children’s worlds in the film…The layer of tension you hear in words like ‘go back’ or ‘foreigner’ is there, but it is incidental. Children pick up what they see. Those words are already on the walls around them. You can be playing in your courtyard while something drastic is happening outside your gate. But the child’s world remains their own and they are also the first to say sorry. It’s just an underlying layer, not meant to highlight tensions. At the same time, what has happened in Manipur is still very close to me. As I grow older, humour is one of the ways I retreat and protect myself.Do you hope it will open up conversations?When the film had its limited release last year, people from the Kuki and Meitei communities sat next to each other in the halls, watched the film, and laughed together. I was sent pictures and videos. It made me so happy. I thought that was a great first step. I hope that, just like we worked together during the shoot, watching the film can bring some hope that we can still be the same. But maybe I am asking for too much. For me, it is simply important that a filmmaker has a voice. Otherwise what is the point of making a film?You ended your speech by saying “no conflict should be formidable enough to destroy our superpower — forgiveness”. In Manipur today, what does forgiveness look like?It has to start at a personal level, inside the four walls of a home. That’s my belief. If your foundation is not strong, then outside factors — neighbours, friends, political leaders, or other influences — can affect you.What made you feel that this story needed to be seen through a child’s eyes?I love children’s stories. I grew up on them, and naturally veer towards because they are full of fun and fantasy. They used to cushion me, and I feel they can cushion others, too. I told the story like the 10-year-old me — a sum total of my experiences. The story is loosely inspired by my grandfather, who used to yearn for his father in exile in Myanmar. Boong is symbolic of all the people who are left behind. Also, many films out there are not suitable for children in terms of messaging or violence. I hope this brings more women and children’s storytelling into the genre.The friendship between Boong and his Marwari bestie Raju gives the film its rhythm…I had begun looking for the three child actors even before the film was greenlit. But because of Covid, when I met them again they had become like full-blown uncles and aunties, that I had to start the process all over again. When I met Gugun in 2021, I knew it was him immediately because he was so cheeky. He said, “Please, I can’t audition. I don’t speak Meitei.” I loved that. I held his hand and said, “Come on, let’s hang.” I asked if he knew how to use a nauri, the slingshot. He said yes and showed me some moves. In the film, the hand sign also became a tribute to Manipur inspired by the Sangai, the brow-antlered deer found only in the state and now almost extinct. Raju too is a proper Manipuri boy who could speak Hindi.When someone outside Manipur watches the film, what do you hope stays with them?I want them to remember closure and new beginnings. The theme resonates with me deeply. Everyone in a bad marriage, in bad friendships…move on.You spent many years working as an assistant director on big Bollywood productions (PK, A Suitable Boy, Lakshya, Rang De Basanti, Swades, etc). With Boong, what was it like to move from that world to something so small and rooted in a local community?It was exactly the way I always wanted to work. Whenever I walked onto big productions and large sets, I would wonder why there were so many people. I would start feeling claustrophobic. So I was very happy that this was a small one where I could work the way I wanted without the unnecessary requirements that usually exist on big Bollywood sets. My rule was to keep everything simple: the story, execution and the way we worked. I wanted it to be completely different from the route I had always worked in. The question was whether I could realise what I had written. So it was really about pep-talking myself that I could do it.What are the kinds of films or filmmakers who have inspired your love for cinema?Akira Kurosawa has been a huge influence on me. More than the films themselves, it is what he says in his interviews and to his assistants that has stayed with me. All you need to write is a pen and paper. Another thing he says that I love is: when you are climbing a mountain, do not think about where you will reach. Just take one step at a time.Now that the global spotlight found you, has it changed how you think about what you want to do next?No. I worked on this film with zero expectations. This is a bonus. Whoever calls to congratulate me, the first thing I ask is: ‘Do you have a first AD (assistant director) job for me?’ (laughs) I will still walk into a set like it’s the first time.