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India has once again got the chance to shine in the 2024 Oscars because of To Kill A Tiger, which has been nominated for the Best Documentary Feature. Last year, SS Rajamouli’s RRR and Guneet Monga‘s The Elephant Whisperers made us proud. Delhi-born Nisha Pahuja has directed the film. It deals with a susceptible subject revolving around a sexually assaulted victim. Filmmaker Nisha hopes that this recognition gained by the film will help in bringing attention to the survivors of sexual violence.
Pahuja and her family moved to Canada in the 1970s. She studied English Literature at the University of Toronto and, after meeting with local Canadian producer Geeta Sondi, whom Sondhi hired as a researcher on a CBC documentary, she became a documentary filmmaker.
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After the terrifying 2012 Delhi gang r*pe To Kill A Tiger, the maker decided to screen her film The World Before Her across India. The movie dealt with the complex surroundings of young girls in India, involving women participating in the Miss India Pageant and girls being trained in Durga Vahini [VHP’s women’s wing]. It premiered at the Tribeca International Film Festival and won the Best Documentary Award. The World Before Her won several other awards as well.
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The movie is about Ranjit’s fight for justice for his 13-year-old daughter, who was kidnapped and sexually assaulted by three men. The summary reads, “Ranjit goes to the police, and the men are arrested. But Ranjit’s relief is short-lived, as the villagers and their leaders launch a sustained campaign to force the family to drop the charges. A cinematic documentary, To Kill a Tiger, follows Ranjit’s uphill battle to find justice for his child.”
Cornelia Principe and David Oppenheim produced the Nisha Pahuja-directed documentary. Celebrities like Dev Patel and Mindy Kaling were executive producers on this doc, along with Rupi Kaur and Atul Gawande. Additionally, Andy Cohen, Anita Lee, Andrew Dragoumis, Shivani Rawat, Anita Bhatia, Niraj Bhatia, Deepa Mehta, Samarth Sahni, S. Mona Sinha of Equality Now, Mala Gaonkar of the Surgo Foundation, Priya Doraswamy, Jason Loftus, Geeta Sondhi and Cornelia Principe also served as executive producers on the movie.
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The movie premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2022. It won the Amplify Voices Award for Best Canadian Feature Film at the film festival. To Kill A Tiger also won the Best Documentary award at the Palm Springs Film Festival. It is contending with Bobi Wine: The People’s President, The Eternal Memory, Four Daughters, and 20 Days in Mariupol for the prestigious Academy Award.
Nisha Pahuja told The Hollywood Reporter, “I was in shock. I couldn’t believe it. I was over the moon. Yeah, I just couldn’t believe it.” She continued, “The things she (Kiran) faced and her family faced in terms of the justice system, the kind of prejudice and victim shaming that happens, those are felt by s*xual violence survivors around the world.”
Nisha added, “This whole journey and the determination to do this has been because this film needs a big platform because it’s important. And it’s a tough subject, and I know this film has work to do in the world.”
Nisha also revealed that she will take Ranjit and his daughter to the 96th Academy Awards ceremony since this would not have been possible without them.
The 2024 Oscars Award ceremony will occur on 10th March.
For more updates on it, stay tuned to Koimoi!
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