Where were you in 2007? I wish I could say that I knew where I was at that time, but I can tell you where I was, from time to time, before that: the Fort Worth Zoo. Like most kids, I had my favorite animals to look at and admire. The birds and monkeys were interesting and funny, but more than anything else, I wanted to see the white tiger. I would sit by the looking glass along the side of its habitat, especially when it was resting just on the other side. Other kids would gather around behind me and whoop and holler. I would think to myself, “just leave us alone,” haha! There was something special about that animal and I am not alone in thinking that.
In fact, the white tiger seems to have special meaning across multiple cultures, near and far. It goes far beyond just the physical beauty of such an animal, as well. Apparently, in Indian culture, the white tiger is spoken of as a reference to someone who comes along every so often and goes from rags to riches, in a manner of speaking. Can you imagine how?
“The White Tiger” takes place in the land of India during the year of 2007. Early on, we are exposed to the voice of our protagonist, Balram Halwai, played by Adarsh Gourav (“Mom”). It would seem that he is very limited in his level of knowledge and education, in general, but do not expect the movie to come straight out and tell you that. Just think about what you know to be the truth and imagine if you only knew half of that. Reserve any anger or frustration you might feel for someone who is not illiterate.
Balram, due to encouragement from certain influential people, has put himself in position to find the best possible master, so that he can up his level as a servant. 
Although I shudder to think about what the mentality might have been for slaves across this country some 150 years ago, it would seem that at some point we all learn to accept the world we are surrounded by and try to make the most of it. Indeed, what you perceive is all you really know. So who could blame anyone for having a “skewed” view of reality?
While “The White Tiger” does not shy away from the prospect of specific individuals favoring socialism over democracy, China over America, or browns over whites, one thing is made abundantly clear within the story: the cultural tropes concerning a caste system are, still, very much alive in parts of India and they may never fully dissipate. Think of this as a religious tradition, so well-engrained that it is just accepted as a part of life that one cannot help or control. This is where our hero’s real story begins…
Balram has come into the service of Ashok, played by Rajkummar Rao (“Chhalaang”) and his estranged wife, Pinky, played by Priyanka Chopra Jonas (“We Can Be Heroes”). Together, they aim to take full advantage of Balram’s skills and work ethic, while also attempting to break him of his ancient, traditional mindset. Try to imagine a scenario where you slowly begin to feel like an equal only to be rudely reminded that you are only as good as the loyalty you are willing to provide, even if that means lying for someone who has committed a terrible mistake and simply wants to avoid serious consequences for it. If you felt this type of betrayal and had no outlet to place it in, what would you be capable of doing? What if you tried to seek catharsis elsewhere, but it only served to make you feel worse? You see, everyone has a breaking point and whether that leads to something morally incorrect or not, in the end it is sometimes kill or be killed; survive or die; profit or fade out of existence.
Balram eventually sees an opportunity and acts on it. 
Those who are affected likely might have done the same thing, but does that really make any difference? “Rich men are born with opportunities they can waste…” If you were not rich, maybe you would come to a place where you value just one shot. It gave me great pause to think about that, personally. I have never seen myself as rich, yet I have been afforded numerous opportunities, so how poor can I really be?
For a moment or two, I wondered if “The White Tiger” is the best original offering I have seen from Netflix up to this point. Soon, I was rethinking this, only due to some apparent, sloppy story-telling late into the movie. Sometimes, in my estimation, style over substance is unnecessary. Having said that, I chose not to be bothered by some of the seemingly obvious takes on wealth and power and how one might come to achieve these things in a place like India. In the end, Balram has become something that we might not have expected when the film first began, but surely not every success story in this part of the world is like his… or is it? Once again, I shudder to think!
Director: Ramin Bahrani (“Fahrenheit 451”)
Screenwriter: Bahrani
Based on: ‘The White Tiger,’ by Arvind Adiga
Starring: Adarsh Gourav, Rajkummar Rao, Priyanka Chopra, Mahesh Manjrekar (“Kesari”) as The Stork and Nalneesh Neel (“Gulabo Sitabo”) as Vitiligo Lips
Distributor: Netflix
Release date: January 22nd, 2021
