New Delhi-born Indian Canadian filmmaker, Nisha Pahuja, has shared how Ranjit, the Jharkhand rice farmer whose fight for justice for his gang-raped daughter is the story of her Oscar-nominated documentary feature, 'To Kill A Tiger', did not get an American visa when the film was theatrically released in the US in September last year.
"We tried to get visas for him and his incredible daughter back in September for the US around the time of our theatrical launch," Pahuja says in an Instagram post. "They were denied. It was a heartbreaking experience for all of us."
The post accompanies a picture of Pahuja in red gown with Ranjit, outfitted in a black tuxedo, in the backstage area of the Oscars venue, the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. "Without doubt, one of the proudest moments of my life," Pahuja writes.
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Of course, with influential members of the Indian diaspora, notably entertainment celebrity Mindy Kaling, actor Dev Patel ('Slumdog Millionaire', 'Lion'), American surgeon, best-selling author and healthcare adviser to Bill Clinton and now Joe Biden, Dr Atul Gawande, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, coming on board as executive producers, getting a visa was no problem for Ranjit the second time, enabling him to attend Sunday night's Oscars gala.
"Thanks to a group of wonderful supporters and champions the second time was a charm," Pahuja writes. 'To Kill A Tiger' eventually lost out to the gripping Ukraine War story, '20 Days in Mariupol'. Ranjit, expectedly, felt bad about it.
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"Ranjit was sad to not win but we reassured him that we all won the moment he and Jaganti [his wife] and their amazing daughter refused to capitulate to a false shame," Pahuja writes. "Thank you Ranjit Bhai for showing the world how it's done. Your quiet resilience will now echo and inspire millions around the world. We are forever humbled and changed."
