Original subtitles

(bells tolling)

(dramatic music)

(dramatic music continues)

(tense music)

(solemn music)

(animals chirping)

- [Narrator] Those of us who have

spent most of our lives in India

have watched men from all over the world

come here to hunt the tiger.

They come for many reasons.

Some searching for tiger.

Others searching for something within themselves.

(tiger growls)

One such hunter was this American.

He came here with his unhappiness,

hoping that, in the jungle, he would find a solution.

(tiger growls)

(gunshot bangs) (tiger yelps)

(somber music)

- The Doctor sir has made his Kill.

(somber music continues) (creek burbling)

(foreboding music)

- I hit a tiger, but it got away.

I got one of his claws.

Here. Keep it for luck.

I'll have to call it a day. It'll be dark in a few minutes.

- Sir, a wounded tiger.

- We'll start packing.

- But the tiger, now that he's wounded,

think of what might happen.

- Know what'll happen to us

if we're caught out here after dark.

I can't be responsible for every tiger in India.

Come on. Let's get started.

(animals chirping) (foreboding music)

Don't bother packing those. Just tie 'em up in a bundle.

They're all yours.

- Thank you, Doctor sir.

- Have a drink, Doctor?

- Thank you, no. I have to get back to my patients.

It's been nice having you here, Dr. Collins.

- My pleasure. I appreciate your hospitality.

- It's not very often i have the opportunity

to meet a physician from New York.

Are you going directly home?

- No.

I think i'll try the hunting in Sumatra.

After that, I don't know, but i'm not going back home.

See, big game hunting in Manhattan is pretty limited.

- What about your practice?

- I'm giving it back to the natives of Park Avenue.

I've retired from the medical profession.

- I'm sorry to hear that.

- It's no great loss.

I never was a particularly good Doctor.

Just a successful one.

Not that there's anything wrong with being successful

or making a lot of money out of medicine the way i did.

Matter of fact, perfectly frankly, it was very satisfactory

to be called one of the top men in your field.

It was other elements, other factors.

(ominous music)

- Doctor, I believe you have malaria.

- Yeah.

I felt it coming on, but then i thought,

well, you're the doctor.

As i say, I'm no longer practicing medicine.

(tense music) (glass clatters)

- Get some help.

-I missed a tiger today.

Easy tiger, too.

I guess i was over-anxious,

but some little mosquito, without even a rifle.

(tiger growls) (ominous music)

- [Narrator]Just as men struggle to exist day by day,

so does an animal.

(monkey shrieks)

A wounded tiger, unable to out-race the jungle alarm,

cannot capture its natural prey.

(tiger snarls)

(monkey shrieks)

(tiger growls)

(monkeys calling)

His immense hunger does not permit him to rest and recover.

(monkeys calling)

His once sleek coat loses its lusty.

(boar snorting)

(hyena shrieks)

His desperation grows,

and soon the beast begins to seek food

that is less able to elude him.

(foreboding music)

(tiger growls)

(tense music)

(tiger growling)

(ominous music)

There are some hurts in a man that cannot be seen.

He will hide his wounds from others as well as from himself.

It is possible for him to run away from his past.

It is possible for him to say,

"I will forget that my wife left me and took my child."”

It is even possible for a man,

unlike other animals, to destroy himself.

(gentle music)

One who comes from other places

cannot grasp the way men live in these hard hills,

yet they will not yield a foot of their land

for anything less than disaster.

(tiger growls) (tense music)

(villagers shrieking)

- [Villager] Tiger! Tiger!

(villager shrieks)

(solemn music)

- I don't care what the chart says.

I've been in bed too long. For me, that's bad medicine.

- Remember, I'm the doctor here.

- Yes, Doctor.

Don't be surprised

if i sneak out in the middle of the night.

- I would not recommend it.

For the first time in years,

there's a man-eater terrorizing the vicinity.

He's already killed two in the foothill district.

Three days later, he wiped out a family on the ridge.

The night before last,

he killed a farm woman just three miles from here.

- Oh, I don't think he'd care for me.

I'd probably give him indigestion.

- Doctor sir, you have very little interest in my people.

- Why, I have no more nor less interest in them

than in any people.

- No offense, Doctor sir.

- By the way, I read my chart.

You did a good job pulling me through.

- Thank you.

- Do you think it was worth it?

- You should know that a doctor has

no more nor less interest in one patient than in another.

(animals chirping)

- Bye, Doctor.

Thanks for everything.

(John grunts)

- [Narrator] We who have observed the tiger

know that eating human flesh

improves the sheen of a tiger's coat,

that these animals never again return to their natural food.

We also know that once a tiger has been attacked by a man,

that man forever remains the beast's mortal enemy.

(animals chirping)

People in India will tell you there is a great difference

in the men who hunt tiger.

Those who have a strong will to live are the best hunters.

They value life,

and this gives them a strong sense of impending danger.

(tiger growls)

(speaker shouts in foreign language)

- Glad I wasn't depending on this place for fresh water.

- Cholera?

- I don't think it was that.

- But the people.

- By the looks of that grain,

I'd say they went on to better land.

- In the Kumaon hills, all the land is the same.

- Stop worrying.

I'm just as anxious to get out of here as you are.

(ominous music)

Blood.

(animals chirping)

(child groans)

- Whoa!

(child groans)

(ominous music) (child groans)

Get my medical kit.

He's exhausted and hungry, most likely.

Get some milk, quickly.

(somber music)

There's no fever and no bones broken.

- Sir, maybe he's from that farm.

He may have got lost when the people went away.

- The tiger!

- Now, now, now, there's no tiger here. You're safe.

We'll push on 'til dark, then make camp.

And then what happened?

- After the tiger had killed many, then killed my father,

my mother brought me there,

where she thought someone might pass and take us with them,

and when we had no more food, she went back to get some,

and she told me to stay hidden until someone came along

and to go with them if she didn't come back.

- Well, if you're gonna cry,

you won't be able to tell us your name.

- Panwah.

- Panwah? That's a nice name.

Champawat village isn't very far from here.

Have you got any people there?

- No one anywhere.

- A bit out of our way, but we'll have to take him there.

We start in the morning.

(solemn music)

- [Narrator] Life in these villages

is as changeless as the Himalayas themselves.

On the surface, life seems to be peaceful,

with time for laughter.

- Come back. Come back.

You gotta be bathed! Come back!

- [Narrator] But underneath,

there is still a struggle for survival,

always present, never forgotten.

- Lali.

- Yes, Sita?

- Did you go to the spring again for water?

- Well, the water at the spring is so much colder.

- [Narrator] At this time of the year,

the men in the village will be out on the gaunt terraces,

planting the new grain.

From these tiny patches of earth,

worn smooth by a thousand years of tilling,

a whole community must be fed.

(solemn music continues)

- Narain.

- I was looking for Lali, father.

- Yes, I know.

You're always looking for her, but we have work to do.

- I haven't seen her for a long time.

- How long? 10 minutes?

The others will laugh at you.

I don't want my son to be laughed at.

- Hmm. It's been longer than 10 minutes.

- This is not the time, not the place

to think so much about your wife.

I can't stop you from being a fool,

but i can stop you from being one in public.

- Yes, father.

(gentle music)

(Lali imitates bird call)

- I brought you a cold drink.

- Where did you get it?

I didn't see you at the well.

- Ah. You've been looking for me.

How many times must i tell you

not to waste your time on your wife

when you should be working?

(bird squawks)

- Ganga Ram is right. Women should know their place.

(gentle music)

- Is it wrong to think my place is with my husband?

- I must go.

- You're forgetting the water.

- Forgive me, father. It was my fault.

I shouldn't have come.

- How many times must i tell you

not to disturb your husband when he's working?

Now, don't look so sad.

Now, don't look so happy.

Women. Must you always make trouble?

- And will i be so much trouble

when i've presented you with a grandson?

- My grandchild will eat like a young bullock.

We've got to prepare for his appetite.

(animals chirping)

(tiger growls)

Go on with your work.

I'm Ganga Ram, the leader of the Champawat village.

- I'm Dr. Collins. I'm an American.

- Welcome, Doctor sir.

- I was on my way to Kathgodam, then to the coast.

- But this is not the road to Kathgodam.

- I know. I had to come this way because of this boy.

- [Ganga Ram] Who's he?

- [John] He's all that's left of a farm near the crossroads.

- [Ganga Ram] Cholera?

- No. I found him alone in the jungle, starving.

I brought him here because he's a Kumaoni like yourself.

- Why is he alone? What happened to the others?

- The others ran away

after the tiger came and killed my father.

- [John] I'd like to leave him here with your people.

- What if the tiger should follow him?

- [John] I found him quite a distance from the farm.

You have nothing to fear.

- Nothing to fear?

We have no hunters, no guns in our village.

- Well, I wish i could help you, but i already made my plan.

- I understand. We know how important a doctor's work is.

What is to be will be.

It is written on our foreheads.

We will take care of the boy.

- Please, father, let him stay with Narain and me.

- Maybe he'll keep you busy while Narain is at work.

- If the tiger comes, you have a gun. You're a hunter.

Please don't go away, Doctor sir.

- Come. You don't have to be afraid with me.

- He needs plenty of milk and a lot of food.

- I'll take good care of him, Doctor sir.

- Please. I wanna go with you.

- [John] You can't, Panwah.

- Panwah. Is that your name?

Come, Panwah. Don't you wanna see your new home?

- [John] Goodbye, lady.

(gentle music)

- Panwah, be careful. You might fall.

- But i have to help you.

(jug clatters)

Oh. I broke it.

- It's just a water jug. Not any of your little bones.

(tiger growls) (tense music)

(Lali and Panwah scream)

(tiger growling)

(Panwah screams)

(monkeys calling)

(Lali screams)

(tiger roars)

(Lali screams)

(somber music)

(tiger grumbling)

(metal clanging)

(tense music)

(tiger growls)

- Where's Lali? What happened to Lali?

All right, men!

(metal clanging) (tense music continues)

(somber music)

Lali?

Lali!

(somber music continues)

- I'll get Doctor sir. He can't be very far from here.

(tense music) (animals chirping)

(panther growls)

(tense music continues)

(somber music)

Doctor sir!

Doctor sir, come back. My wife is sick.

- Well, take her to the district hospital.

- She's been hurt bad.

- Well, if she's seriously hurt,

she should be in a hospital.

- Oh, it's too far. I think she's dying.

- Look, they've got the equipment to take care of her there.

I've only got a small kit with me.

- Oh, please. She needs your help.

She was attacked by the tiger.

- Tiger? (foreboding music)

(solemn music)

(ominous music)

(solemn music)

I can't do anything more for her now.

She'll need me later.

If she becomes restless or makes any sound,

you're to call me.

I'll be in my hut.

- How's Lali, Doctor sir? Is she going to live?

- I've done everything possible. She's got an even chance.

- And the child?

(somber music)

(dog howls)

(Lali groans)

(foreboding music)

(knocking on door)

- [Sita] Doctor sir, Doctor sir, come quickly!

(foreboding music continues)

(dog howls)

- She's past the crisis. She'll live.

- Thank you, sir. Thank you.

Get some sleep.

(ominous music)

(tiger distantly roars)

- [Narrator] A less complex man than John Collins

would have reduced his problem to a simple decision.

It was not that he questioned any longer

that it was his tiger.

He knew that he was responsible for it

and that it had taken many lives and might yet take more.

In the eyes of the community, he was guilty.

In his wife's eyes, he had been guilty too.

She had accused him of not caring,

but what was there to care about?

All his life, he had seen men creating war and destruction.

He could not believe

there was anything about them worth saving.

(solemn music)

- I'm not the only one that ever wounded a tiger.

- Are you going to let him get away?

Aren't you going to follow him?

- I came back here to help your wife, not to go hunting.

I'm not gonna spend the rest of my life stalking tigers.

- We will try to catch the tiger in our own way.

Gather the men. Have them build deadfalls.

- Yes, father.

- When i go, I'll leave the necessary medicine

for your daughter-in-law.

- Thank you.

- The boy Panwah will be the best medicine for her.

She'll need a child to love

now that she can never have one of her own.

- That is grave news indeed, Doctor sir.

- I'm sorry. I did the best i could.

- I'm sure you did.

Have you told her?

- No. It's better to wait until she's stronger.

- She will have to know, and so must Narain.

She was a good wife and a good daughter.

- Was? You talk as if she were dead.

- In our way of life, she cannot fulfill her duty.

Narain will have to marry again.

- But why?

- We have no choice. Not i nor Narain nor Lali.

Narain must have a son, and i, a grandson.

Narain will read the prayers when i die,

and there must be a son for him

to read the prayers after his death.

That is what we believe in, Doctor sir.

- But what about Lali?

- She will be thinking only of what is right for Narain.

- Simple as that.

Her feelings, her love, her life, all of that doesn't count.

- We cannot afford the luxury of being selfish.

- You think i'm selfish

'cause i won't put myself out to kill a tiger

that doesn't mean anything to me.

- Do not blame yourself too much, Doctor sir.

What was done, you have done

because it was written on your forehead.

I will tell Lali.

- No.

I'll tell her.

(solemn music)

Feeling better?

Good.

Very good.

I was talking to your father-in-law just now.

You know i won't be staying here much longer,

so i thought i ought to tell you.

You're a better patient than i am a doctor.

- What was it you were going to tell me?

- Well, you've got to be careful for a while

and take care of yourself.

That's all.

- No, Doctor sir.

You were going to tell me something else.

You want to tell me i'll never be a mother.

- You're alive and you're young.

Soon, you'll be completely well.

That's all that matters. Nothing else.

- But i'll never be a mother.

Is that what you were going to say?

That i'd never have...

- [John] Yes.

(solemn music continues)

- I wish i could be your bearer.

- You'll make a good one when you grow up.

If i ever come back, we'll get together.

Hand me my medical kit from the bed, will you?

Panwah, you like Lali, don't you?

- Oh, yes, Doctor sir.

- I want you to be with her all the time she's getting well.

Will you remember that?

- [Panwah] Yes, Doctor sir.

(animals chirping)

(somber music)

- Father, please don't tell Narain until i'm ready to leave.

- It's my duty to tell him now,

but if you want to, you may tell him yourself before you go.

- Thank you.

- Here. Let me help you.

- Thank you for staying with Lali, father.

- Have you finished with the deadfalls?

- Yes. In the morning, we will stake out goats as bait.

When i saw Doctor sir, he said you're going to be all right.

- He did?

- Yes.

- Did he say anything else?

- Isn't that enough?

Soon, you'll be able to come out to the fields again

while i'm working.

- And interrupt your work and make Ganga Ram angry?

- He'll get used to it.

You'll be making him angry that way for years to come.

- Narain.

Oh, Narain, my husband.

(animals chirping) (solemn music)

- You go to bed now. You've been up late enough.

- Everything's ready for morning, Doctor sir.

- We won't be leaving for a while.

(tiger distantly roars)

Our friend is hungry tonight.

- He's still following you, Doctor sir.

- Following me? If he had any sense, he'd avoid me.

- [Villager] We've known it to happen before.

A tiger will not forget the man who wounded him.

(tiger distantly roars)

(tiger growls)

(foreboding music)

(foreboding music continues)

(gun clicks)

(tense music)

(somber music)

- [Narrator] In the earth, in the pockmarks

that had led to his door and to no other,

John Collins could read the truth.

Last night, the tiger had come to kill him.

The hunter had become the hunted.

He remembered the words of the village leader.

"It is written on your forehead. What will be will be."

He knew now that, from this challenge, there was no escape.

(animals chirping) (foreboding music)

- [Narain] Doctor sir!

- Hello?

- Doctor sir, the devil tiger is caught in the pit.

Come quickly!

(tense music) (tiger growling)

(tiger roars)

- Narain, look.

That's not the man-eater. Front paws are perfect.

(tiger growls)

That's him. He's near.

Quickly, get branches! Cover up the pit!

This is a female. He'll come to her.

(foreboding music)

(tiger roaring)

He's circling the area, but he's on his way to her.

(tiger roaring)

(tiger growls)

Now, back to the village, all of you.

You better go back with the others, Narain.

I work better alone.

- I promise not to be in the way.

- You'd be better off home with your wife.

- We have a whole lifetime for that.

The important thing is to get the devil tiger.

I would like to be here.

(tiger roaring)

- Very well. Get high in that tree over there.

Don't make a sound.

- Thank you, sir.

(tiger roars)

(tiger roaring)

(tiger continues roaring)

(panther snarls)

(gunshot bangs)

(foreboding music)

(tiger growls)

(somber music)

(gentle music)

- Hello, Lali. It's good to see you up and about.

- Thank you.

- You look fine.

Don't go too far from the village, will you?

- [Lali] Doctor sir.

- Yeah?

- [Lali] I'm going to leave Champawat.

- You've told Narain?

- [Lali] No. Not yet.

- Tell him.

- It's not easy.

- He won't let you go, will he?

- You don't understand.

- What is it to understand?

Why are you leaving Narain? Why should you?

Why should you destroy your life together?

- Our ways, Doctor sir,

they're different from those of your people.

- No, Lali. All people are alike.

They're born the same. They die the same.

Their ways are the same. Don't do it, Lali.

Don't let them take your happiness away from you.

Forget about what happens to Narain. What about yourself?

- How can i forget about Narain?

He must go on to his destiny.

- Don't be a fool, Lali. Think of yourself.

Keep what you got.

- Are you telling me this or perhaps yourself?

Oh, forgive me, Doctor sir. You've been very kind.

- Kind?

(solemn music)

I'll see you back to the village.

(solemn music continues)

(branches crackling)

(tiger growls) (foreboding music)

(tiger roars)

(villager screams)

(villager screams) (tense music)

(suspenseful music) (branches crackling)

(tiger growling)

(suspenseful music continues)

(monkeys calling)

(somber music)

(foreboding music)

(foreboding music continues)

(Lali sobbing)

(fire crackling)

- We have decided to leave in the morning, all of us.

- Leave Champawat?

- Do you always want to be hiding behind a thorn bush?

Afraid to go into the field? Don't let the tiger defeat us.

- Our only hope is to take our women and children

far up into the hills.

- You can't leave. Champawat is your home, my home.

We cannot allow ourselves to be driven away.

(animal whoops)

- [Narrator] The night watch passed slowly for John Collins.

He thought again of his wife.

Once, she had told him, "To love deeply.

You must take something of yourself and give it to another.”

He had never believed this truth, which was so clear

even to two young people in an obscure Indian village.

(solemn music) (animals chirping)

(dramatic music)

(foreboding music)

(tiger growls)

(tense music)

(gunshot bangs)

(somber music)

(villager wails)

- I'll try again.

I'll try again.

(villager softly sobs)

- Doctor sir, you can't keep

going out to the jungle this way.

You need some rest.

- I'll know when i'm ready to rest.

You have a wife in New Delhi, haven't you?

- Yes.

- Well, there's no point in keeping her waiting.

Tell the driver to take you home.

- Without you, Doctor sir?

- Right.

- But i should wait. It isn't right for me to-

- I said to leave.

I don't know how long i'm going to be here.

When i'm ready to go back, I'll get somebody to take me.

(guide stammers)

(solemn music)

- Why are you doing this?

Tell me, Lali. What has happened?

You're going away?

- Yes, Narain.

- Why?

Where are you going?

- Oh, my beloved. I couldn't tell you before.

I didn't know how.

I didn't want to.

(Lali softly sobs)

And now...

Now...

(somber music)

- The men have just told me

they will not go to the fields in the morning.

There's still hope i can persuade them.

What is it, Narain?

- Lali. She told me she's leaving.

Father,

what am i going to do without Lali?

I can't let her go.

- It is not easy to ask,

but you must not think of yourself

as Lali's husband anymore.

You should remember only that, someday,

you will take my place here.

That, my son, is your destiny.

There is nothing we can do.

The villagers will never accept you as their leader

unless you marry again.

It is your duty.

You know how deeply i feel about Lali,

but she...

(solemn music)

(Panwah groaning) (ominous music)

- Lali! Lali!

- What is it, Panwah?

- The tiger, his eyes, over there.

- Don't be frightened.

Oh, light the lamp, Narain.

The child's had a bad dream.

(gentle music)

Nothing can harm you. I promise you that.

(Lali humming) (somber music)

- Lali, I don't know what to do.

- Let us read the prayers together.

- Oh, I'm sorry.

- [Lali] Come in, Doctor sir.

- I was wondering how Panwah is.

After everything that's happened to him, I-

- [Lali] He's asleep.

- Oh. Well, you see, I was thinking about him.

- Doctor sir,

Lali is leaving me.

- Yes, I know.

That's why i came here tonight.

- Please tell her she does not have to leave.

- I can't tell Lali what to do.

- I know i shouldn't ask you. You're only a stranger here.

What happens to Lali and me are our own troubles, not yours.

- That's not true, Narain.

A few years ago, a few days ago,

it might have been, but not now.

- Then isn't there anything you can tell us?

We don't know what to do.

- I wish i could help you,

but i'm a physician that couldn't heal himself.

I didn't know how.

You see, I never knew people, only patients.

I spent most of my time trying to become successful.

I built myself a set of traditions and obeyed them,

but i didn't know then that success, leadership,

or whatever you want to call it, has to be shared,

or there's no meaning.

I found myself on the top of the world, alone.

I don't know how to say it.

It's no good alone.

It's just no good alone.

Isn't much help, is it?

If you need me for anything, I'll be around.

- He has told us what to do. We'll stay together.

- Narain, I'll never stop loving you. Never.

- We'll leave Champawat.

We'll go away. We'll be free together.

- No. It is over now.

You must marry again and i must go away.

- After what Doctor sir just told us.

- He does not live according to our traditions.

For thousands of years, there were no living things here.

Then when we lived, we were the only living things.

You and i. All of the life came after us.

A cow and a sheep, and now this tiger who wants to kill us,

and the Doctor sir who wanders alone.

Narain, look.

There is the moon, still as it was

on the first night of creation.

(tender music)

Many things have lived their lives here,

things that tried to live and died,

and left none of themselves, but not you.

I want what i love in you to remain forever,

your children never to disappear from the earth.

- I'll marry no other woman.

(tense music)

- If we do not work the fields, we will go hungry!

We cannot let our fear starve us to death!

(somber music)

(tense music)

- The Doctor sir is here to protect us!

- [Villager] Where was the sir

when Sita's husband was killed?

That devil tiger is too smart for us.

- [Ganga Ram] We will destroy the tiger.

We will stake out bait for him again this morning.

- [Villager] He will have nothing to do with our bait.

He eats only human beings!

(somber music)

- Is there anybody here who isn't afraid of the tiger?

(solemn music)

(solemn music continues)

(tiger distantly roars)

(ominous music)

(foreboding music)

(tiger growls)

(solemn music)

- I'm going out of the house.

When i leave, say a long prayer, the one i taught you.

- The one to God who watches over little children? That one?

- Say all of it, slowly.

When you have finished, go to the Doctor sir

and tell him that i've gone to the spring.

- But, Lali, should you go there?

- Tell the Doctor sir

there will be human bait there for the tiger.

He will know what to do.

You will obey me.

- I will obey you.

- I am going now.

Then get up and dress yourself and say the prayer.

- Yes, Lali.

(solemn music)

- Narain.

(solemn music continues)

(tiger distantly roaring)

(solemn music continues)

- Oh, father of worlds,

all little children on earth love thee.

Doctor sir! Doctor sir!

Lali went to the spring!

- The spring? Why?

- She said there's gonna be human bait there.

(foreboding music)

(tiger distantly roars)

- Lali!

Lali!

(tiger roars)

Lali!

(tiger growls)

(tiger growls)

Get back.

(tiger growls)

(gunshot bangs)

(tense music) (tiger snarling)

(dramatic music)

(somber music)

(gentle music)

- You can't go. The villagers won't let you.

Because of what you have done,

they have demanded that Panwah be permitted to be our son.

- Panwah!

Panwah! (uplifting music)

(triumphant music)

(triumphant music continues)