Nisha Pahuja-directed ‘To Kill A Tiger’, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best DocuRanjit and his family’s struggle to stay afloat and continue fighting the legal battle make for uneasy viewing. However, what’s most heartbreaking is the breakdown of the community support for the minor girl whose family brushes aside the relentless pressure exerted by villagers, including women, to “forgive” the culprits and marry one of them. For most villagers, Ranjit’s decision to pursue the legal battle is most unusual, even obstinate, something that they can’t wrap their heads around. In a deeply patriarchal setting where violence against women is endemic, the family is criticised for not showing “forgiveness” to the culprits and, thus, giving the village a bad name.
What keeps resurfacing in the narrative is the villagers’ stand that the survivor should marry to get rid of the daag (stain). When cornered and questioned about the girl’s plight, the villagers, including the ward member who was a witness in the case, don’t shy away from not-so-subtle victim shaming and blame the girl for staying out till late. When their suggestions and condemnations failed to yield the desired effect, they resorted to threatening the family. Ranjit had received death threats, apart from the warning that his house might be burnt down.
These incidents reinforce the disturbing fact that multiple policies to ’empower’ women and laws to protect them are yet to make substantial progress in certain geographies where deep-rooted male-centric traditions continue to relegate women to secondary roles, robbing them of voice and agency.
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While the stigma that rape survivors have to bear remains a reality, the system to provide them justice is inept and biased against survivors. The investigating officer in this case didn’t even visit the scene of the crime and botched up the timings in his report.
This is a story that needed to be told, especially since it could offer inspiration to all those families who couldn’t muster the courage to fight against the injustice and hostility of their community. But To Kill A Tiger, which lost the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature to 20 Days in Mariupol, is not without flaws. Even though the makers have stated that Kiran, who is now an adult, was not ashamed to reveal her face, using footage of her, when she was still a minor could have been avoided.
The centre theme of the documentary — made amply evident in their campaigns as well as Pahuja’s interviews — is the father’s love for his daughter. Even though the documentary tries to capture it, it doesn’t come through fully how their bond became the backbone of this fight. Could it be because the documentary shows the social workers of the Srijan Foundation guide them at every step? We need grassroots activists like them to hand hold the survivors and their families, especially if they live in remote and rural areas, through their difficult legal journey. But the narrative becomes weaker when it shifts its focus to the activists. As they counsel the survivor’s family and villagers, they come close to being ‘preachy’.
There is no doubt both Pahuja and Srijan Foundation had Kiran’s interest at heart. They, however, needed to use some caution. That would have made this story of bravery and father-daughter bond more powerful.
mentary Feature, chronicles a father’s fight for justice after his 13-year-old daughter Kiran (pseudonym) is raped by three men of their village during a wedding function. The odds are stacked against this modest farmer (Ranjit) in Jharkhand’s Bero district as he refuses to give up his pursuit of justice. Resolute in his fight, he rebuffs the villagers’ attempts to reach a compromise and get his daughter married to one of the assailants
