Edited by Deepali Verma
Delhi-born Nisha Pahuja’s film ‘To Kill a Tiger’ has found a nomination spot for the best feature documentary category for the Oscars 2024. She revealed that she learned about the honour with the rest of the world as she was watching the live announcement, as per The Hollywood Reporter.
“I was shocked and I couldn’t believe it. I was over the moon. Yeah, I just couldn’t believe it,” Pahuja said in an emotional response to The Hollywood Reporter.
“This film has work to do in the world,” remarked Nisha discussing her documentary about a Bharatiya farmer’s legal battle for his daughter after a brutal sexual assault.
Bharat-born Canadian filmmaker Pahuja’s previous films range from the Emmy nominated ‘The World Before Her’, the feature documentary ‘Bollywood Bound’ along with the three-part series ‘Diamond Road’.
‘To Kill a Tiger’ revolves around Ranjit, a farmer in Jharkhand, Bharat, who puts on the fight of to demand justice for his 13-year-old daughter, Kiran, as she survived a sexual assault at the hands of three men in 2017. ‘To Kill a Tiger’ is a Notice Pictures production and a co-production with the National Film Board of Canada.
Looking beyond this particular career milestone, the ‘To Kill a Tiger’ director has her focus set on the global platform her film has secured to leave greater traction for gender justice for the survivors of rape as well as other sexual violence in Bharat and the rest of the world.
The director said, “Their story, their struggle, their commitment to justice, the fact that even as a man, Ranjit stood firmly by his daughter, is what is so rare. The film centres around the underdog, David vs. Goliath story. Additionally, this is a film about love.”
She wants to drive a change in the attitude of legal justice for survivors of rape and other sexual violence globally, especially in the U.S. and the UK where the conviction rates for those accused of rape remain stubbornly low and below those of the courts in Bharat. She hopes that this Oscar nomination of her movie will help tackle toxic masculinity by questioning patriarchal practices and attitudes.
“We’re not aiming to look at the significance of men standing up for women. To me, that is the power of the film,” Pahuja said.
Beyond the Oscar nomination, ‘To Kill a Tiger’ has managed to win the prize for Best Canadian Film at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival as well as the best doc award at the Palm Springs Film Festival.
“I’ll take Ranjit and his daughter as they are the reason for where we are. It’s because of them,” the filmmaker remarked.
The documentary showcases Kiran as a child and a survivor of a gang rape. Presently, she’s nearly 20 years of age. “She finds herself in a much better place. And she’s excited, really, really thrilled,” Pahuja said of Kiran, who was present at the earlier screenings of the doc in the UK.
The theatrical release of ‘To Kill a Tiger’ was in October 2023 at the Film Forum in New York before expanding it to major cities. To possible Oscar glory, ‘To Kill a Tiger’ has had some heavyweight promoters, such as executive producers namely Dev Patel, Mindy Kaling, Rupi Kaur and Atul Gawande.
