The White Tiger Movie Review
The 2021 drama, The White Tiger, was digitally released on Netflix on Jan. 13. The White Tiger, adapted from Aravind Adiga’s 2008 novel, featured Adarsh Gourav playing Balram, the antihero of this sometimes bitterly funny, sometimes wrenching crime drama. Balram’s story begins with dragging himself out of poverty and the tethers of caste to become a successful entrepreneur. Balram is not one to go along with what life gives him, and when he learns that the wealthy family in Dhanbad needs a driver for their son, Ashok, played by Rajkummar Rao, Balram learns to drive. He gets the job and quickly makes himself essential. Being a naturally ambitious worker, Balram goes above and beyond the call of duty but is inevitably blamed at the first sign of trouble.
This movie was an extremely enjoyable and interesting watch. The portrayal of differences that lower class and upper class have, such as the struggle and the luxury, are both very clearly showcased in the movie. The story is very nicely narrated and beautifully captures the key moments and thoughts of the protagonist. The White Tiger maintains the darkly satirical tone similar to the novel. Director Ramin Bahrani, mostly avoids the clichés of exotic India and lays out the outright brutality of Ashok’s father (Mahesh Manjrekar) and brother (Vijay Maurya) to the good intentioned but inadequate kindnesses of Ashok (Rajkummar Rao) and his wife, Pinky (Priyanka Chopra Jonas).
Through the visualizable choice of words, the acting, and the flashbacks, you feel as if you are in the movie. While the overarching narrative is quite full of thrill, the ending was not as strong after being hooked by said narrative. Overall though, this film paints a strong statement and is definitely worth the watch.
Final Verdict: 3.5/5 Stars