The man lies motionless and the tiger sits down too.
The frightening scene becomes apparent only once the shaky cellphone footage focuses on the subject: A man lies stiff as a corpse in the middle of a field and a tiger sits over him.
In videos captured by witnesses, the tiger is first seen being chased around a field while a huge crowd of villagers stands at a distance. The incident took place in Maharashtra's Bhandara district on Saturday.
Chased by a group of villagers, the tiger leaps across the road and manages to pin down one of them as others watch in horror.
The man lies motionless and the tiger sits down too.
After several heart-stopping moments, with villagers throwing stones and shouting at the animal, the tiger finally lets go of the man and runs away.
Videos of the incident were posted on social media by Parveen Kaswan, an Indian Forest Service officer among others.
At least three people were injured in the incident.
The incident once again brings into sharp focus how humans often corner animals into horrifying encounters.
It took place just a day after a 42-year-old woman was killed by a tiger in Brahmapuri forest division of Maharashtra's Chandrapur district on Friday evening.
On Sunday, a 35-year-old man and his cow were mauled to death by a tiger in the Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh.