In the Name of the Daughter

NISHA PAHUJA HAD set out to make a very different film after the Emmy-nominated The World Before Her (2012). It was meant to be a film that would explore masculinity, a set piece to complete the ideas she had broached in her much-loved documentary about two young women negotiating modern India in different ways—one by participating in a beauty pageant and the other by being a member of the Hindu national­ist outfit Durga Vahini.

But during the shooting of her documentary on masculinity, she was drawn to one particular story. She says, “I had initially set out to shoot a portrait of masculin­ity through the story of activist Mahendra Kumar, and two boys involved in the Centre for Health and Social Justice’s gender sensitisation programme in Jharkhand. But when we went into edit, we realised the story of a father and daughter, and their fight for justice was so much more powerful than those three stories. That became To Kill a Tiger.”

Ranjit, a tribal farmer from a village in Jharkhand, was fighting the good fight for his daughter. Raped at 13 by three men after a wedding party, Kiran (not her real name) was threatened into silence, but she resisted. She got unexpected support from Ranjit, who immediately took her to the police and filed a complaint despite threats, and continued the battle for justice despite divisions within the village.

Pahuja’s To Kill a Tiger, her fourth documentary, captures Kiran’s struggle over the years, battling prejudices and her own inhibitions. Several elders in the village wanted her to marry her rapist, while some of men used the Mulayam Singh Yadav excuse of “boys will be boys”. But she remained stead­fast. As she says in the film: “To do good, build a good future, isn’t that why God created us in the first place?”

NOW A 20-YEAR-OLD studying in Ranchi, Kiran often looks back in awe at the girl who stood her ground. Pahuja, who was born in Delhi and grew up in Canada, believes in immersive filmmaking. She spent 14 months shooting Ranjit and his family in the village. She and her husband, cinematographer Mrinal Desai (who shot Chaitanya Tamhane’s Court, 2014, among other notable films), are patient, and do not believe in rushing to com­plete a project. When they first came to the village with Mahendra Kumar, an activist from the Centre for Health and Social Justice (CHSJ), based in Delhi, it was to document their work among men and boys. “When the rape occurred and she saw Ranjit’s response, she started following the case closely,” says Kumar of the programme they run that focuses on personal, familial and then community change in attitudes of men.

CHSJ works with men and boys to change the way they view themselves and their masculin­ity. Ranjit was one of the men enrolled in their programmes for gender equality, as indeed were the rapists. Ranjit’s progressive views seemed often at odds with his edu­cation but Ranjit’s sole motivation was love. As he says in the movie, “When I think of my daughter, my fear goes away.”

Pahuja’s camera offered him protection from the villagers while also giving him a cachet locally which the court could not ignore. He welcomed Pahuja but eventually the crew had to leave the village, when the people turned against them. “The situation was getting difficult there,” says Pahuja. “We had to get out.”

Pahuja, who divides her time between Toronto and Mumbai says, “India is my greatest teacher, my lifeline, a place I return to repeatedly for its stories and its inspiration.” It is where the stories are. Pahuja likes working at the intersec­tion of storytelling and social justice, which documentaries afford her. She was inspired to do this while studying English literature at the University of Toronto (when it was Erindale College). She started her writing career with a grant from the Toronto Arts Council and fell in love with documentaries when she was hired as a researcher for a documentary.

Pahuja, 56, knew from her experience with The World Before Her—that was presented by Anurag Kashyap and had a theatrical release in India—that she needed some star power for her film. She reached out to author and doctor Atul Gawande who asked Mindy Kaling in 2022 to support the film, which she did. That was the beginning of what has since become a perfect storm of celebrity support, from actors Dev Patel to Priyanka Chopra Jonas.

Film critic and film festival programmer Aseem Chhabra says the ecosystem Pahuja has built for the film is admirable. “The competition in the Oscars’ Best Documentary category is tough though,” he says, mentioning the Ukrainian 20 Days in Mariupol, The Eternal Memory (Chile), Four Daughters (Tunisia), and Bobi Wine: The People’s President (Uganda). “But having champions such as Mindy Kaling and Dev Patel for her film will help given how vibrant the South Asian community has become in Hollywood,” he says.

Eventually, Pahuja wants the documentary to communicate the courage of Ranjit and his family in standing up for justice and equality. She says, “When you think of social change, that is how it happens. It is always someone who speaks up no matter what the consequences are.” Ranjit and family came to screen­ings in London and Birmingham and their presence only enhanced the integrity of the documentary. There were some ethical questions about the use of Kiran’s face, espe­cially since she was a minor when the rape happened. But Pahuja took clearance from Kiran when she turned 18, so there was no conflict.

Pahuja wants to make films that are strong, brave and fearless. “If you don’t deal with mas­culinity, and change the way men and boys think, you cannot address women’s rights in India,” she says of the lessons from the documentary. She is helped by Desai, who is highly rated not merely for his technical skill but also for his teamwork and generosity of spirit. As Vivek Gomber, producer and actor, Court, says: “Mrinal’s sense of calm, dedication, how to be and how to behave as a human being, is very hard to come by, and stems from the kind of person he is.”

Pahuja and he make a great team, exhibiting all the resilience required for a film like To Kill a Tiger. For Abhijit Das, who set up CHSJ, it is validation of their belief that gender equality is not possible without working with men. “Men have to understand privilege, empathy and solidarity,” says Das.

Mahendra Kumar who has worked closely with Pahuja for over five years, during which she rented a house in Ranchi and would travel back and forth to Ranjit’s village, says the filmmaker is “extremely emotional”. “She would often visit villages where we were working and give inputs on interven­tions and changes in strategies we should affect. She is not merely a documentary filmmaker, but also an activist and literally our co-worker.”

Pahuja’s work comes at a time when Indian documentaries are enjoying rare appreciation globally. India offers a variety of stories and of late, whether it is a newspaper run by women in Bundelkhand or two orphaned elephants adopted by a couple in Tamil Nadu, the world is seeing new narratives. Shaunak Sen, one of the leading lights of this documentary renaissance, said in an interview that he was struck by Pahuja’s unflinching gaze at the truth, even if it was ugly or brutal, for instance the idea of a compromise between the survivor and the perpetrator.

There is also her ability to isolate small details that add colour to the grim world of Kiran’s village, such as the splash of red ribbon threaded through Kiran’s plaits, the thread­bare quilt covering Ranjit’s other children while they sleep, the loneliness of the little girl carrying her backpack to school. Then there are the silences and the close-ups of the father, as he listens to everyone in the village but keeps his own counsel.

Will Ranjit and Kiran go to the Oscars? Pahuja is not sure. But their story is one that has resonated with the world. And as Kiran dreams of becoming a police officer, and Ranjit and his wife take care of her siblings, Pahuja’s eight-year-long odyssey may well get its crowning glory on Oscar night. As for their relationship, which has gone far beyond that of a documentarian and her subjects, it is “lifelong.”

cinemadocumentaryjusticeNisha PahujaOscar-nominatedThe World Before HerTo Kill a Tiger