The White Tiger (2021)

Image Courtesy- Netflix

Plot :

An ambitious driver for a rich Indian family uses his wit and cunning to escape from poverty and become an entrepreneur. Based on the bestselling novel by Aravind Adiga.

Cast:

Adarsh Gourav, Priyanka Chopra, Rajkummar Rao, Mahesh Manjrekar

Review :

The White Tiger, (adapted from Man Booker prize-winning novel by Aravind Adiga) is on the surface a tale of a loyal chauffeur to a corrupt landlord in India. It is an engrossing tale of servant and master that portrays the dynamics of the caste/class divide in the world’s largest democracy. White Tiger is metaphorically rich and the film is laden with motifs and witty one-liners.

The brilliance of this film lies in the fact that even though it resorts to done to death stereotypes while portraying India, (Gandhi statues everywhere, streets always filled with cows and poor people and the rich always abusing the poor) there's an air of novelty about how the director handles the situations and the storytelling is fresh and there's not a single dull moment.

We get to know the story through the protagonist's narration and though it may at times feels monotonous, it's witty and filled with thought-provoking lines directly from the novel. The main dilemma of the protagonist rests on a simple question. "Do we loathe our masters behind the facade of love - or do we love them behind a facade of loathing?"

Adarsh Gourav acting as Balram, the village underdog who later chooses a different path for sustenance is a pleasure to watch. Of course, there are some glaring errors related to the English spoken by Indians like when Pinky (skillfully played by Priyanka Chopra) explains to Balram that her parents owned a 'bodega' in the US and he understands it! Even though Balram and many other Indians can understand and speak English, some scenes like this make absolutely no sense. But that is to be expected in a movie like this.

Highlights:

Adarsh Gourav steals the show with his down to earth expressions and in one crucial scene when his character can't speak out load about the terrifying fate that awaits him, his eyes begin to tear up and he beautifully emotes using only his eyes. Gourav’s charisma animates a film that otherwise can get very heavy and morose.

Stumbling block:

The closing scenes feel truncated and unsatisfying as if the film was not entirely at ease with the ending. Even though the runtime is just two hours, the pace was very slow from the second half and kind of acted as a dampener to the thrilling storytelling style. Rajkummar Rao didn't do justice to his character and his performance is underwhelming.

Verdict:

Go stream it and experience Ramin Bahrani’s engrossing and metaphorically heavy new movie.

Rating - 3/5