After being allowed to change schools, Boong (played by Gugun Kipgen) decides to bring back his estranged father as a gift for his mother. Along with his best friend, Raju (played by Angom Sanamatum), Boong devises a plan to retrieve his father from the city of Moreh, hours away from their city of Manipur. The boys think of ingenious ways to survive in this new city on their own, and don’t let the unfamiliarity of their new circumstance stop from completing their mission.
‘Sweet’ was a word that I used to describe the film, and it was because of the heart that Kipgen and Sanamatum brought to it. I enjoyed seeing the world and all the complexities in it through their eyes, especially with this ability children have to believe they can do what they dream, and to seemingly not dwell on the hurdles that come their way.
Divisions based on race and class are also explored through the eyes of young children in this film, which highlights the hurt they cause and how absurd they can be. Boong and Raju are frequently made fun of because of where they live; and Raju is constantly picked on because of the colour of his skin, sometimes even by his closest friends, in exchanges that are prime examples of children regurgitating what they hear around them. But through the journey Boong and Raju take, the imaginary lines drawn around some of the characters begin to disappear as they all come together. Shared experiences overcome differences in background, and empathy triumphs over non-concern.
Director Lakshmipriya Devi uses Boong and Raju’s journey to zero in on friendship beyond boundaries, a message that bears even more weight now as the divisions highlighted in the film have grown worse since its production; and as the world increasingly finds ways to put us against each other.
Boong ís playing at TIFF ’24. For more information, click here.
