Illustration by Tarush Mohanti
WHITE TIGER is an adaption of the 2008 novel of the same name (which I haven’t read). The reason I emphasize that it’s based on a 2008 book is because it bears a ton of similarities to Bong Joon-ho’s 2019 PARASITE.
Like PARASITE, WHITE TIGER does an excellent job exploring classism and, in the latter’s case, caste discrimination. In one sense, WHITE TIGER does what only a film can do – tell a story from someone’s perspective that you feel so removed from.
The movie also features excellent acting from Adarsh Gourav, as the film’s protagonist, Balram. Unfortunately, his character, and in fact, none of the characters in this movie are particularly likeable (although there are plenty of unlikable characters). That’s also the biggest difference between WHITE TIGER and PARASITE – at every plot point, you’re left not caring as much the film wants you to.
It’s a shame, because this movie feels like it could’ve been much better. Even though it was a reasonable 2 hours, it felt much longer. The end result is a good, but not great, movie.
WHITE TIGER is available to stream on Netflix.
