As a child, Balram (Adarsh Gourav) was likened to a white tiger. Because as a poor boy from a slum in Laxmangarh, Balram, who is good at reading, also speaks English, is a “rare creature”. After a few years, what is the fate of Balram as an adult? Like most poor people from low caste, he became a loyal servant to carry out his master’s orders, then smiled happily every time he completed a task, like a dog wagging its tail while sticking out its tongue when its owner said, “good boy”. Top Movie Site
Adapting the novel of the same name by Aravind Adiga, The White Tiger, touches on privilege. How do the rich have the option to fail while the poor must succeed at all times. How no matter how smart, dreams will continue to hit the abyss of poverty. Interestingly, the film opens by showing Barlam who has been successful as a businessman. The question “What path did Barlam take to get out of the abyss of misery?”, Made his non-linear plot, able to effectively keep the audience’s attention. It is not easy to guess, an event will lead the story to where.
Balram’s first opportunity came, when he was accepted as the driver of Ashok (Rajkummar Rao), the youngest son of “The Stork” (Mahesh Manjrekar) the landlord in Laxmangarh. Unlike his father who acts arbitrarily, extorting the small people through taxes, and routinely paying politicians to run business, Ashok is an honest and generous man. That said, all thanks to the ideological influence he got while living in the United States. It was there that Ashok met his wife, Pinky (Priyanka Chopra Jonas).
Ashok and Pinky insist that Balram should not treat them as higher caste masters, even though the gap is actually so wide, both shown by appearance, mindset, and gestures. Rao in a suit looked charismatic. When he smokes in the passenger seat, his figure shows the figure of a rich man who can enjoy every second of his life. On the other hand, Gourav also convinced him as a servant who liked to smile and agreed to all the words of his employer. Either because he didn’t know anything, or in an attempt to “lick”. Best Movie
Initially The White Tiger seemed warm, but this is not a heartful story about the friendship of two different class individuals. The script made by director Ramin Bahrani (At Any Price, 99 Homes) immediately exposed reality. The reality is that the holders of power (and wealth) have a tendency to fake kindness. There are those who put on masks to attract the hearts of commoners, for example when we find that the grassroots idol politician who is nicknamed The Great Socialist (Swaroop Sampat), is in fact no less dirty at playing.
But there is also a bourgeoisie with double standards. Balram’s employer falls into this category, after an incident, which proves that in the end, the poor will become a victim of the rich. The second group is no less dangerous. Even though they seemed to be nice, they were so threatened, they didn’t hesitate to show their real faces.
Is it entirely the rich’s fault? On most occasions, yes, but The White Tiger is fair. The lower class people can also be a source of trouble, as was seen when Balram’s grandmother (Kamlesh Gill) not only forced her grandson to marry, she took almost all of her monthly salary. Egoism, greed, tendencies rule other people’s lives. In fact, this nature is present in every human being, no matter how thick the pouch is.
The ending of the film is somewhat problematic, takes place in a hurry, like a brief epilogue forced to summarize the conclusion of a long journey. But the weakness at the end of that duration did not cause the damage to The White Tiger, which, thanks to Ramin Bahrani’s dynamic storytelling, did not leave the slightest room for boredom. Movie Review
