REVIEW: To Kill A Tiger, a refusal to ignore justice

One of the worst things that can ever happen to a person is rape. Getting raped is a violation of your space, your body, your safety. And when it’s done, if you choose to pursue justice against your rapist, having to relive all the traumatic memories can be just as traumatizing. Constantly subjecting yourself your experience of it, it can be incredibly disheartening. Imagine doing that, and your entire community turning against you for seeking justice instead of just moving past it.

That’s the situation audiences find themselves exploring in the new documentary To Kill A Tiger. The film, directed by Nisha Pahuja (a Canadian filmmaker born in India who previously made the film The World Before Her), is about a 13 year old girl who was gangraped near her home in the northeast state of Jharkand. When she returns, she tells her father Ranjit that she wants to press charges against the three teenage boys who raped her. When he files charges with the local police office, the village turns against his entire family. They instead insist it was the young girl’s fault, as she was out late. They additionally insist that the girl marry one of her rapists as a means to bring honour back to both the family and the entire village.

For audiences outside of India, watching this film is to experience a great deal of culture shock. While the #MeToo movement proved that rape was incredibly widespread in western cultures, it’s a unique problem in India. The film explains that In India, a rape is committed every 20 seconds and less than 30% of all rapes end in convictions. It appears that most rapes across the nation are never reported, and are swept under the rug (potentially involving a marriage between rapist and victim). The film doesn’t just focus on Ranjit’s story and his family’s struggle, but it also depicts the work of his lawyers and advocates from outside the village who encourage the villagers to most past their outdated and sexist convictions.

I spoke with Pahuja, who tells me this film was initially about one of the advocates and his work in attempting to redefine masculinity in India. While she is continuing to work on this documentary now, she was inspired by seeing his work with Ranjit. She began to follow Ranjit and his family around, and “as soon as it became clear that Ranjit was not going to back down…the tension started building in the village.” She decided to make a film entirely about Ranjit and his family, a man pushing ahead of outdated attitudes. Many of the villagers seem to grow inflamed at the presence of the camera. It’s as if they can see the outside perspective on what they’re saying, and they don’t like what they see.

The majority of villagers seem to want this story swept under the rug, but the film does anything but that. It follows Ranjit and his daughter around, illuminating every complicated step of their legal battle. From filing the charges against the will of the police, to dealing with violent threats from their neighbour, To Kill A Tiger shows it all. It gives extra focus to the anxiety and stress the family feel. One scene depicts the villagers growing inflamed thanks to some drunken men, which almost led to a fight between camera crew and the villagers.

Pahuja tells me that was a strange experience for her and the crew, as it “could potentially become really violent.” Luckily was no hurt in the end, but it was a scary situation for the crew. Pahuja says that “we were engaging with a group of women and we were able to calm them down, but the men… we couldn’t calm them down.” Frequently we see conversations between Ranjit and fellow men in the village, all who seem incredibly angry with him for going against the village’s will. While both men and women express annoyance with the situation, only the men ever show genuine anger at Ranjit and his family.

To Kill A Tiger is about accomplishing an insurmountable problem. The odds are stacked against them, the nation’s culture opposes their desire for justice. But Ranjit and his family persevere, and are able to remain in the village. This documentary is an incredibly emotional showcase that is absolutely worth a watch. I give this film a 4/5.

This film is playing at the Hot Docs cinema this weekend from February 9-February 14th. This film also won the Best Canadian Film award at TIFF last year, beating out stiff competition. It can be a harrowing watch, but a very informative and hopeful one. You can watch my interview with Nisha Pahuja below.