A Review of The White Tiger: Brutal, Dark and Unapologetic | By Yumitra Kannan
 |
| Source: FlickeringMyth. |
Put together...
- the adaptation of a Man Booker Prize-winning novel by Aravind Adiga
- an American-Iranian director (Ramin Bahrani) named as one of the top-ten filmmakers in the world
- a lead actor (Adarsh Gourav) who seems to have been born to play the role
- a poetic-satire like narration on the realities of the destitute India
...and you will get a film that leaves you with a lingering taste of satisfaction that watching an underdog come out on the other side gives, regardless of the cost. You may also temporarily feel guilty for having sold your morality to the devil, but what are good films made of if not the ability to do just that? The White Tiger has had a significant reign on Netflix’s Top 10 and rightfully so. It’s got humour, solid storytelling, scenes that will make your skin crawl, phenomenal performances and most importantly, the harsh truth of the cost of freedom, the reign of the elite and discrimination of the penniless. But is it really worthy of comparison to the Oscar-winning film Parasite (2019)? Let’s find out.
 |
| Source: FlickeringMyth. |
It is the voice of the lead, Balram (Gourav), that carries The White Tiger for most parts. He sets the stage for a tale of the century where a boy made of scraps and poverty becomes an affluent entrepreneur in his homeland - India. When he narrates his journey, he comes across as a prodigy who could have been nurtured and honed into the crème de la crème of society but whose non-existent socioeconomic status, caste and frankly, his own people, held him back. In the words of the character, Balram, he was stuck in a “rooster coop” that had no merciful way out like the millions of servants in India. Here, the only way to tell the fate of one is to look at the “size of their bellies”, and one needs to be “straight and crooked, mocking and believing, sly and sincere, all at the same time” to make it out and to the top.
That is the precis of The White Tiger, but delve just a little deeper to savour the intricately woven, intersecting realities of discrimination portrayed in the film, ranging from indoctrination to self-serving motives and unyielding superiority.
The story unveils the role of many in the systemic divide amongst the rich and the poor, suggesting that it is not just about subscribing to the idea of equality but having one’s actions back it up. We see this portrayed in the New York acculturated businessman Ashok (Rajkumar Rao), who starts off by calling out the inhumane treatment of servants in India falls from his high and mighty horse when he sacrifices his innocent driver, Balram (Gourav). This showshow one’s regressive roots will protrude no matter how much one glazes it over with the facades of progression.
Despite being a patriarchy-fighting voice who roars for justice, Pinky (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) eventually backs away after futile efforts because it is not a broken system that she is trying to fix, but one that was built to benefit the wealthy. One may argue that the servants, who form the majority, would have the power to overthrow the wealthy. Yet, this does not do much in their favour, for they have had the servant-mindset drilled into them for many generations. They know that deviance from the norm would cost them heavily, yet they are not willing to pay from the pockets of their hopeless lives, for it would cost their loved ones more.
 |
| Source: IMDb. |
“They can see and smell the blood. They know they’re next, yet they don’t rebel. They don’t try and get out of the coop. Servants here have been raised to behave the same.”- Balram, The White Tiger
The White Tiger does not back down in its portrayal of the riches versus the rags. Rather, it takes a bold and unflinching stand and brings life to a raw representation. From its animal analogy where servants are roosters, Balram (Gourav) is the exceptional white tiger and Ashok (Rao) is a sacrificial goat to the nailing of the pretentious attitudes of foreign-educated nationals, obnoxious mannerisms of the wealthy and the obstinacy of servants to serve, serve and serve. Bahrani and Adiga make it clear from the beginning that this is no lenient, dialed down serving of actuality. In fact, it is revolutionary.
 |
 |
Source: Netflix.
“It is the century of the brown man and the yellow man and god save everybody else.”- Balram, The White Tiger
Being an adaptation of a literary masterpiece, the movie comes with a lot of promise, but what justifies its visual counterpart is the indisputable performance of Adarsh Gourav and his supporting cast, the signature style of Ramin Bahrani and the tasteful encapsulation of a rather odious tale. It is fresh, it is real, it has a good pace and it will make your stomach churn. As for being worthy of comparison to a tour de force like Parasite, allow me to have the audacity to say that it indeed merits such recognition. It may come across as a little lengthy and the dialogues tend to sound more orchestrated than natural, but I personally take delight in literary adaptations that do not sacrifice the poetic writing for something more realistic when one has the creative license to bring about a novel voice.
This film is one for the books!
 |
| Source: Netflix. |
0 comments