We all love a good rise-to-power story, especially when it involves someone moving up through the ranks of the criminal underworld. Ramin Bahrani offers a different look at that tale from an Indian perspective in The White Tiger.
Starring Adarsh Gourav, Rajkummar Rao, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, The White Tiger follows Balram, an Indian man who has been raised only to be a servant. But when his masters betray him, making him take the heat for a crime he didn’t commit, Balsam finally takes charge of his destiny.
The film is written and directed by Ramin Bahrani, a filmmaker I have heaped loads of praise on for his films 99 Homes, At Any Price, and Goodbye Solo. His last film was HBO’s remake Fahrenheit 451. Bahrani adapted from the 2008 novel by Aravind Adiga, a close personal friend since college. Chopra and Ava DuVernay act as exec-producers, as well.
The White Tiger hits Netflix on January 22nd 2020.
Balram Halwai (Adarsh Gourav) narrates his epic and darkly humorous rise from poor villager to successful entrepreneur in modern India. Cunning and ambitious, our young hero jockeys his way into becoming a driver for Ashok (Rajkummar Rao) and Pinky (Priyanka Chopra-Jonas), who have just returned from America. Society has trained Balram to be one thing — a servant — so he makes himself indispensable to his rich masters. But after a night of betrayal, he realizes the corrupt lengths they will go to trap him and save themselves. On the verge of losing everything, Balram rebels against a rigged and unequal system to rise up and become a new kind of master. Based on the New York Times bestseller and 2008 Man Booker Prize-winning novel.
