BAFTA deletes ‘Boong’ filmmaker Lakshmipriya Devi’s Manipur address, restores video on YouTube later | – The Times of India

Manipuri movie ‘Boong’ made historical past as India’s first BAFTA winner. Critics accuse BAFTA of eradicating director Lakshmipriya Devi’s peace-targeted acceptance remarks from the clip. When the video was later reposted with out an evidence, the transfer sparked outrage and renewed requires accountability to guard Indigenous voices. Learn on to know extra intimately.

The Manipuri movie ‘Boong’ made historical past after it received the BAFTA 2026 award within the Greatest Kids’s and Household Movie class. With that achievement, it turned the primary ever Indian film to bag the glory. Amidst this, the British Academy of Movie and Tv Arts (BAFTA) is receiving a backlash for eradicating the profitable speech of the Manipuri filmmaker Lakshmipriya Devi. Let’s be taught extra about it intimately.

BAFTA removes Lakshmipriya Devi’s profitable speech

In her profitable speech, the ‘Boong’ director Lakshmipriya Devi referred to as for peace within the Indian state of Manipur. The filmmaker was lauded for the historic win in addition to her profitable speech. Nevertheless, the official X account of BAFTA eliminated the director’s profitable tackle from the platform. The British Academy did not present any clarification for a similar. Quickly, the folks of the web referred to as out the motion.Nevertheless, WION has reported that the video was reposted on BAFTA’s YouTube channel on Friday after initially dropping from Instagram, X, and YouTube.

Netizens react

A social activist, Binalakshmi Nepram, wrote on X, “Expensive @BAFTA, did you take away the acceptance speech of an Indigenous Lady Director of award-profitable movie from Manipur, BOONG, out of your social media accounts @X & Instagram? If sure, erasure of the acceptance speech of Director is tantamount to cultural erasure of Indigenous Peoples & girls’s voices & have to be reinstated instantly. Inclusion and never erasure of our voices and our tales is the best way ahead.“

Others have additionally demanded an evidence for a similar. In the meantime, the British Academy is but to make an official assertion on the identical.

Lakshmipriya Devi’s speech on the BAFTAs

In her acceptance speech for ‘Boong’, Lakshmipriya Devi stated, “Thanks to the jury members and BAFTA for giving our very small movie such large love, a movie that’s rooted in a really troubled, very a lot ignored, and really underrepresented [region] in India, my homeland, Manipur. It is an homage to my homeland.”She added, “Simply wish to use this chance to say that we pray for peace to return to Manipur. We pray that each one the internally displaced kids, together with the kid actors within the movie, regain their pleasure, their innocence, and their desires as soon as once more.”

Extra about ‘Boong’

Directed by Lakshmipriya Devi, ‘Boong’ options Gugun Kipgen, Bala Hijam, Angom Sanamatum, Vikram Kochhar, Nemetia Ngangbam, Jenny Khurai, and Hamom Sadananda. The film is ready to re-launch in theaters after the BAFTA win on March 6, 2026.