New Delhi: When Ranjit, who had been tending to his rice fields in a remote corner of Jharkhand, decided to stand up against his village and fight for his daughter following her gang rape in 2017, he was told, “You can't take down a tiger by yourself.”
Recounting this exchange near the conclusion of the Oscar-nominated documentary feature 'To Kill A Tiger,' directed by Indian Canadian filmmaker Nisha Pahuja, Ranjit expressed determinedly, “But I responded, 'I'll demonstrate how to take down a tiger all on your own.' And indeed, I did.”
While 'To Kill A Tiger' ultimately did not win, as anticipated, losing to '20 Days in Mariupol,' Ranjit experienced a moment he had never envisioned. Clad in the customary black tuxedo and bow tie, he attended the 96th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, immersing himself in the splendor of the most eagerly awaited event in global cinema.
The trauma of his daughter's rape may linger, but for Ranjit, it marked the conclusive validation of his solitary struggle against the challenges imposed by an indifferent system. His 20-year-old daughter, now distanced from her past, aspires to become a policewoman dedicated to safeguarding women like herself. Crafting 'To Kill A Tiger' required eight years of dedicated effort for Pahuja, whose prior documentary, 'The World Before Her,' earned an Emmy nomination.
Although the documentary garnered 19 awards, it fell short of the Oscar, yet it found a home on Netflix and received backing from prominent figures in the global Indian diaspora such as Dev Patel, Mindy Kaling, poet Rupi Kaur, Dr. Atul Gawande, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. As the Oscars conclude, Pahuja and Ranjit can momentarily revel in celebration, but both are acutely aware that their story echoes throughout the country every hour. The tiger remains elusive and challenging to subdue.