White Tiger Film Review
**Contains Spoilers**
Low class Indian driver, Balram is determined to break the cycle of poverty and rise above. He narrates his story, in this film and takes us on his journey to success. In the movie we are told the white tiger known as the rarest animal that comes along only once a generation. The film is based on a book inspired by the working class in India.
Early in the film we see how hard life is for Balram and his family. He is forced to drop out of school at a very young age to join the family business, breaking down coal. As he gets older Balram wants more for himself, so he enrolls in driving lessons with his grandmother’s approval. He lands himself a position as a driver for the local wealthy landlord, The Storck. Throughout the film we see the stark differences of how people live within the caste system. In Balram’s hometown, his entire family lives in one small dwelling and they all sleep in one room, majority on the floor. Whereas his boss lives on a compound with many servants. The Storck treats his servants as slaves almost; they even refer to him as master. This was a bit shocking to watch because this movie was set in the 2000’s. But it doesn’t stop there.
The gap between the poor and the wealthy in India is intentionally wide. Wealthy people hire the poor to work extremely low-paying jobs and the poor compete for these positions just to make ends meet. It’s awful, but I am happy for the reinforcing imagery shown throughout the movie. Balram did not even know what a computer or the internet was and it was the mid 2000’s. I never knew this is what life is like for some people. It makes me really appreciate the things I have. Balram uses his wit to become the head driver for The Storck’s son, Ashok. Ashok earned his education in the US and is married to an Indian American woman, Pinky.
Ashok and Pinky are not traditional Indians; they treat Balram with some dignity (or so we think). Living in American has made them more sympathetic to the poor. But when things hit the fan Ashok’s family uses Balram as a scapegoat to cover up Pinky’s tragic and careless accident. Are we surprised? Nope. Quickly Balram’s dream job became a nightmare but it motivated him even more to break out of his class. In this dog eat dog world Balram does what is needed to become an entrepreneur. Basically kill, or be killed!
Overall, I enjoyed the movie but it was way too long. I was very annoyed that 99% of the movie was about struggle and we did not get to enough of Balram’s success. At the very end we see how successful he becomes but I was not completely satisfied. The movie could've been a lot shorter and I would have enjoyed it just as much.
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