What does the tiger think of the filming and its part in the film?

As a young tiger, Raja considers himself to be "Supreme Lord of the Jungle" (13), a title he gives himself due to his strength and ferocity. However, he learns that he cannot quite do as he pleases, both badly stinging himself when hunting a porcupine, and almost being killed by the female tiger. He is also aware that the other animals do not necessarily respect him or admire him, but that animals like the crow, owl, and leopard are conspiring against him. They fear him, but he does not have power over them.

This narrative is reflected in the relationship between Captain and Raja. Using the whip and the chair, Captain controls Raja for a long time and has him perform in the circus, but what he does not realize is that Raja is on some level cooperating with these demands; when Captain takes the relationship too far, and uses the cattle prod on Raja, Raja finally retaliates and kills Captain. Before he kills Captain, Raja thinks that "he was drunk with authority" (99), implying that he has a inflated sense of his own power.

Power in the novel truly belongs to the Master, and it is not because he tries to control other beings, but becomes he learns to understand them and to encourage them to understand themselves. What he teaches is self-mastery, and real power in A Tiger for Malgudi consists in the ability to overcome the violent parts of our characters in order to find inner peace. This is what Raja comes to learn.