Set in India, To Kill a Tiger, directed and written by Nisha Pahuja, made it to the 96th Oscars nomination list in the Best Documentary Feature category. The nominations were announced on Tuesday, and many might be wondering who is Nisha Pahuja? For starters: Born in Delhi, Nisha is based in Toronto, Canada. Also read: Oscars 2024 full list of nominations
Who is Nisha Pahuja?
Nisha Pahuja shifted to Canada with her family in the 1970s and completed her studies in English Literature at the University of Toronto. She worked as a researcher on the CBC documentary Some Kind of Arrangement and later joined hands with Canadian filmmakers John Walker and Ali Kazimi. She rose to fame after her 2012 documentary film, The World Before Her.
Her projects
With recognitions including Best Documentary Feature and Jury Award Winner from the Tribeca Film Festival, Best Canadian Documentary from Hot Docs and TIFF's Canada's Top Ten, the Emmy-nominated film, with the help of director Anurag Kashyap, saw a theatrical release in India in 2014. Nisha's other works include the feature documentary Bollywood Bound and a three-part series Diamond Road.
More about her latest, About To Kill a Tiger
To Kill a Tiger is based in India and follows the story of Ranjit and his battle for justice as his daughter was sexually assaulted by three men. The official synopsis of the film reads, “In To Kill a Tiger, Ranjit, a farmer in Jharkhand, India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the survivor of sexual assault. In India, where a rape is reported every 20 minutes and conviction rates are less than 30 percent, Ranjit’s decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.”
{{/usCountry}}To Kill a Tiger is based in India and follows the story of Ranjit and his battle for justice as his daughter was sexually assaulted by three men. The official synopsis of the film reads, “In To Kill a Tiger, Ranjit, a farmer in Jharkhand, India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the survivor of sexual assault. In India, where a rape is reported every 20 minutes and conviction rates are less than 30 percent, Ranjit’s decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.”
{{/usCountry}}Watch trailer here:
The film was previously screened at Toronto International Film Festival 2022, where it won the Amplify Voices Award for Best Canadian Feature Film. It is backed by Cornelia Principe and David Oppenheim.
Talking about Nisha, Mindy Kaling, the executive producer of the film alongside Dev Patel, said, "To Kill a Tiger is a story of how one family’s strength can overcome even the most heinous injustices. Nisha is an incredibly powerful storyteller, and her film is a triumph. Everyone should see it.”
Following the nomination announcement, Mindy added to her Instagram account, “TO KILL A TIGER NOMINATED FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY!! The director (and mother) of the film, Nisha Pahuja (@nishappics), has made the most moving and beautiful film about the strength of a family in the face of impossibly harrowing circumstances. I was beyond honoured when she asked me in 2022 to join the film as an executive producer - and could not be more proud of her, the To Kill A Tiger team and the film this incredible morning!”