The White Tiger (film)

Entrepreneur Balram Halwai emails Wen Jiabao, requesting a meeting, and relating his life story. He states his belief that the Indian underclass is trapped in a perpetual state of servitude, like chickens in a chicken coop.

As a child in Laxmangarh, Balram is offered a scholarship to a school in Delhi because of his advanced academics. He is told that he is a "white tiger," someone who gets born only once in a generation. However when his father is unable to pay off The Stork, the village landlord, Balram's grandmother forces him to work in the village's tea stall, and he never returns to school.

As an adult, Balram aspires to become a chauffeur for The Stork's son Ashok, who has returned from the United States with his New York-raised wife Pinky. He is hired as the family's second driver. The primary driver of the family is hiding that he is a muslim because The Stork hates muslims. Balram blackmails him so that he can be Ashok and Pinky's driver in Delhi. In contrast to other members of their family, Ashok and Pinky generally treat Balram with respect and eventually become closer to him, though they still view him as a servant.

On Pinky's birthday, she and Ashok get drunk and force Balram to let Pinky drive, which results in her accidentally hitting and killing a child. The Stork's family coerces Balram into signing a confession, and though no-one is charged, Balram is left shaken by this. Pinky leaves Ashok, leaving Balram to emotionally support him. However, Balram begins to take advantage of Ashok by charging him with fake repair receipts and using the car as an unlicensed taxi. Balram gets paranoid about being replaced.

Balram's grandmother unexpectedly sends one of his younger nephews to live with him in order to learn how to become a driver like Balram. This setback, as well as learning that Ashok has hired a new driver to replace Balram, causes him to have an epiphany. Balram murders Ashok and absconds with a large amount of bribe money meant for Indian politicians, fleeing the city with his nephew. An arrest warrant is put out for Balram but he evades capture.

Re-establishing himself in Bangalore, Balram begins a private taxi service for call center workers. He treats his drivers as employees and not as servants, and takes personal and financial responsibility for any incidents caused by them. As he signs off the email, Balram reveals that he has also changed his name, to that of Ashok Sharma.

The White Tiger's original score is composed by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurrians. Its soundtrack album features reused compilations of various songs from independent artists, which ranges from different timelines.[24][25] Two of the songs "Akh Lar Gayee" and "O Murari Re" , were used as montages (songs that drive along with the storyline). The film features a promotional song "Jungle Mantra", which describes the life of Balram's character (Adarsh Gourav). Performed by Divine, along with American rappers Vince Staples and Pusha T, the song was released on 15 January 2021.[26]

The score produced by Bensi and Jurrians, for the film, features Indian-inspired themes and sounds.[24] In its review for Republic World, Anushka Pathania stated: "the music composed by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans playing in the background successfully captivates the viewer and conveys the emotions of the characters in each scene beautifully".[27] Rohan Naahar of Hindustan Times praised the soundtrack album stating "The film is fuelled by a punchy hip-hop soundtrack and a frenetic energy".[28]

Priyanka Chopra shared the first look stills of The White Tiger,[29][30] through her social media platforms on 16 October 2020.[31][32] The first teaser trailer of the film was released on 28 October,[33][34] and the full-length trailer was released on 21 December.[35][36] A press show for The White Tiger was premiered at Las Vegas on 6 January 2021,[37] and opened up in limited theatres across United States on 13 January 2021.[38] It was later released globally through Netflix on 22 January 2021.[39]

A lawsuit was filed against the makers by producer John Hart, citing copyright infringement.[40] The producer stated that a literary auction agreement was executed between him and author of the book Aravind Adiga in March 2009 and he had to make it an Oscar worthy film to be released in Hollywood, which did not materialize. In October 2019, he came to know that Netflix was in the process of making and releasing the film on over-the-top media service and this resulted in sending a legal notice to its producer Mukul Deora and Netflix to cease and desist from any such act.[41] His plea was rejected by the Delhi High Court, as he did not have proof to approach the court less than 24 hours of its release,[42] although the court summoned Deora and Netflix for copyright violations.[43]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 91% based on 138 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Well-acted and beautifully made, The White Tiger distills the strengths of its source material into a grimly compelling drama."[44] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 76 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[45]

Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal called the film "funny and ferocious" and described it as "a zestful epic blessed with rapier wit, casually dazzling dialogue, gorgeous cinematography and, at the center of it all, a sensational star turn by [...] Adarsh Gourav".[46] Rating the film 3.5 stars out of 4, Michael Phillips of Chicago Tribune termed the film a "propulsive adaptation", writing "The cast brings an edge and a drive to the telling, while cinematographer Paolo Carnera captures both the real-life grit and the dreamy, aspirational glamour of Balram’s unsentimental education."[47] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote "An immersive plunge into the chasm separating the servant class from the rich in contemporary India, the drama observes corruption at the highest and lowest levels with its tale of innocence lost and tables turned. If there's simply too much novelistic incident stuffed into the overlong film's Dickensian sprawl, the three leads' magnetic performances and the surprising twists of the story keep you engrossed."[48] The Times's Kevin Maher rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, noting the film as "a dizzy, woozy, taxi ride to the dark side" and praised Chopra Jonas' performance, calling her "impressive".[49]

Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair praised the acting and Bahrani's direction and screenplay, saying that the film brings the celebrated novel to vivid life.[50] In his 4 out of 5 stars review, Robbie Collin of The Telegraph wrote "a punchy, propulsive watch, blown along by snappy editing and a hip-hop-driven soundtrack that stresses that there’s still much fun to be had when hefty themes of inequality and geopolitics are being tackled."[51] Bilge Ebiri of the New York magazine called the film "a Brutal, Powerful Tale of Ambition, Class, and Corruption" that "cuts across borders and continents, and [...] cuts into the soul as well".[52] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film 4 stars out of 5, describing as a "Balzac-worthy satire of submission and power" and wrote "Bahrani [adapts and] also directs with terrific storytelling energy."[53] Clarisse Loughrey from The Independent opined that the film was a "dark but exhilarating satire of capitalism".[54] Peter Travers pf ABC News praised the "throughout pitch perfect" acting and Bahrani's direction, writing "Ramin Bahrani keeps you on the edge of your seat."[55] Owen Gleiberman of Variety opined that the film is "an ironic study of the psychology of servitude", praising the performances by Chopra Jonas' and Gourav whom he called "marvelous".[56]

David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a "B", calling it a "darkly comic thriller" and a "brutal corrective" to Slumdog Millionaire (2008).[57] K. Austin Collins from Rolling Stone gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, writing that the film was a capable, compelling and topical drama but suffered "for giving us a setup that’s richer than the follow-through." The critic praised Gourav's performances as "unassuming but pitch-perfect" and he felt that Rao and Chopra Jonas also gave equally worthy performances.[58] In a mixed review, A.O. Scott of The New York Times deemed the film "a barbed rags-to-riches tale" and wrote "The plot is lively, and the settings vividly captured by Bahrani and the director of photography, Paolo Carnera, but the characters don’t quite come to life. They aren’t trapped by prescribed social roles so much as by the programmatic design of the narrative, which insists it is showing things as they really are. If it wasn’t so insistent, it might be more convincing."[59] Jesse Hassenger of The A. V. Club criticised the film for only "hitting the key themes and scenes without finding an independent tone", while also adding that the overtly explaining narration repeatedly takes the reins away from Gourav’s acting.[60]

• The White Tiger at IMDb
• The White Tiger at Rotten Tomatoes
• "Script" (PDF). Deadline. Retrieved 29 January 2021.Archived January 29, 2021, at the Wayback Machine