Nisha Pahuja’s To Kill a Tiger has received a Best Feature Documentary nomination at the 2024 Oscars. Pahuja talked to The Hollywood Reporter about her nomination, stating, “I was in shock. I couldn’t believe it. I was over the moon.”
Pahuja’s film follows Ranjit and his daughter, Kiran, in the aftermath of her sexual assault by three men. Aside from this nomination, Pahuja is more concerned with the film’s ability to raise awareness of gender justice for survivors of sexual violence in India and globally: “It’s a tough subject, and I know this film has work to do in the world…Their story, their struggle, their commitment to justice, the fact that as a man, he (Ranjit) stood by his daughter, which is so rare. The film is about the underdog, a David vs. Goliath story, and it’s a film about love.”
The film won Best Canadian Film at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival and the Best Documentary Award at the 2023 Palm Springs Film Festival.
Pahuja already knows who she will bring to the Oscars: “I’ll take Ranjiy and his daughter. That’s the reason we are where we are. It’s because of them.”
Pahuja has also given a positive update on the now almost 20-year-old Kiran, a child when the film came out: “She’s in a much better place. And she’s really excited, really, really thrilled.”