Priyanka Chopra Jonas Has Personal Connection to Sexual Assault Documentary To Kill a Tiger (Exclusive)

Priyanka Chopra Jonas has joined a project that is near and dear to her heart.

Kill the tigerdirector Nisha Pahuja’s documentary about survivors of sexual assault in rural India was nominated in the best feature documentary category at Sunday’s Oscars.

Chopra Jonas, 41, who signed on as an executive producer ahead of its March 10 streaming premiere on Netflix, has more reason to “catapult the conversation that this film starts,” the actress tells PEOPLE exclusively.

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“I look for and get attached to work that really encourages conversations about topics that are close or passionate to me, and sexual violence against women is definitely one of them,” says the founder of the production company Purple Pebble Pictures. “In India, we say that one-third of women in India have experienced sexual violence, and that statistic must be higher because of under-reporting.”

Kill the tiger takes audiences on an Indian farmer’s quest for justice after his 13-year-old daughter is raped, but Chopra Jonas points out how universally his depiction of a “worldwide epidemic” resonates. “Justice systems in many parts of the world are not very sympathetic to victims and re-traumatize them,” she says.

Chopra Jonas also sees Pahuja’s documentary as a call to action for men. “The film speaks not only to the survivors, but also to their allies, the men who support the women,” he explains Citadel star. “It’s very interesting to have insight into that and see a father fight against his entire community, the justice system, against what he’s been told is the norm for his daughter’s rights.”

Ranjit, the farmer and father who fought that war, was “very inspiring,” she adds, “knowing how deep-rooted these social norms are.” Chopra Jonas was born in Jharkhand, India — the same state where Kill the tiger was recorded. “This is what a village in India looks like,” she says. “It’s very authentically filmed.”

The actress saw the film shortly after its premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival and remembers being moved to tears by Ranjith’s struggle for even more personal reasons. “I lost my father in 2013 and he was my biggest champion,” she says. “Ranjit and his quiet determination — my dad was that kind of champion for me… There’s something about just having a father who is your champion. It’s such a universal feeling.”

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Priyanka Chopra Jonas at the premiere of the film ‘Citadel’ in Rome 2023.

Elisabetta A. Villa/Getty

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In that spirit, Chopra Jonas and her fellow producers, including Mindy Kaling and Dev Patel, are “bringing it to its prime on Netflix right before the Oscars.”

“I am very happy to be part of the group of Indian EPs who have come together to support Nisha and her journey to the Oscars,” she says of the “amazing” Pahuja. “Mindy, Dev and I will advocate for her.”

Regarding Kill the tigerChopra Jonas says of the Oscar recognition that it is another encouraging sign that we live in “a great time for global cinema”.

“I’m so excited to be a part of the entertainment industry at a time when films from all over the world are being embraced,” she says. “Movies with subtitles win Oscars in the main categories. As an artist who started her work in India and had a great career there, I really believe that [being] at the forefront of bringing film and filmmakers from different parts of the world into mainstream entertainment, into Hollywood.”

‘To kill the tiger’.

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Kill the tiger, she adds, embodies that great change: “A lot of people I know who have seen it feel like they’re looking at a world they’ve never seen or known. And that’s the beauty of cinema.”

Priyanka Chopra Jonas celebrates Hindu festival in cute photos with daughter Malti

That’s why Chopra Jonas will continue to “put his head down and work” as a film producer and activist. “I’m not one to think about what kind of legacy I’m going to build,” she says when asked about passing on values ​​to her two-year-old daughter, Malti Marie, who she shares with husband Nick Jonas.

“The work will speak for itself,” she adds. “Being attached and working with filmmakers like Nisha and telling stories like Kill the tigerI hope that is my legacy.”

Kill the tiger will launch globally on Netflix on Sunday.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

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Source: HIS Education