India-Born Nisha Pahuja’s Docu-Feature ‘To Kill a Tiger’ Nominated for Oscars 2024

Delhi-born Canadian Nisha Pahuja’s film ‘To Kill a Tiger’ has been nominated in the best feature documentary category for the Oscars 2024.

“I was in shock. I couldn’t believe it. I was over the moon. Yeah, I just couldn’t believe it,” Pahuja told The Hollywood Reporter. This documentary feature film is about an Indian farmer’s legal battle for his daughter after a brutal sexual assault.

Pahuja’s previous films include the Emmy-nominated ‘The World Before Her’, the feature documentary ‘Bollywood Bound’ and the three-part series ‘Diamond Road’.

‘To Kill a Tiger’ is all about Ranjit, a farmer in India’s Jharkhand, who fights for justice for his 13-year-old daughter, Kiran, who faced a sexual assault by three men in 2017.

The documentary premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2022 and won the Amplify Voices Award for Best Canadian Feature Film.

It was released in theatres of North America in 2023. British Indian actor Dev Patel, Indian-American film personality Mindy Kaling and Indo-Canadian poet Rupi Kaur are among its producers. Pahuja was born in New Delhi and is based in Toronto.

Describing the film, TIFF had noted, “While aspects of this story might seem culturally specific, there is much in To Kill A Tiger that speaks more broadly to rape culture and the silencing of women. Many people in the village insist that the perpetrators’ “naughty” behaviour must have been provoked by Ranjit’s daughter, but she needs to be reassured that what happened wasn’t her fault. When it comes to rape, shame is wielded like a blunt instrument. But the story of Ranjit and his fearless daughter, enduring so many voices clamouring for them to stand down, is one of remarkable strength and defiance.”