The first frames of White Tiger opens with a successful entrepreneur Balram Halwai( Adarsh Gaurav) firmly ensconced in his A.C cubicle and narrating his story , scaling from servitude to humongous financial success. His Indianized english accent is toxic, yet highly relatable to the deep rooted and prejudiced societal division entrenched in our society. The film pedals to his flashback, where an ambitious and curious Balram has to bow down to his familial traditions and acute poverty, thereby leaving his schooling and a possible scholarship. Fraught with a penetrative caste system, Balram is desperate to make a living outside this quagmire and moves to the city to serve his masters from village in the role of their driver. But soon cracks appear, and a niggling tension persists between his deference and wealthy masters he serves and idolizes, thus representing a paradoxical conflict between modernity and tradition. His ambitions are pulverized frequently, but craving for power and success steels steers his story to a visceral and heart wrenching ending.

Adopted from the Aravind Adiga’s 2008 Man Booker prize-winning novel of the same name, White Tiger , helmed by Ramin Bahrani is a powerful satire on the working class struggle , internalizing the emotional conflict between subservience and power. The film is textured with a riveting screenplay, reflecting Balram’s untiring efforts in wrenching himself to the top through the path of dubious morales . His relationship with his masters Ashok ( Rao) and Pinky ( Chopra), both foreign returned and sapped with wealth , is delicately balanced between loyalty and imminent devastation. The couple is shown to be progressive in their thinking, but expects undeniable obedience from their servant. Balram is often abused with slaps and invectives from his masters, who leave no stone unturned to show him his actual aukaad . But Balram is smart , and he knows how to navigate through these impenetrable layers of power. This moral conflict is fiercely juxtaposed throughout the film.

And adding to this melee is a delicious performance from Adarsh Gaurav, who is brilliant as the main protagonist Balram. His story is sumptous, and he relishes his character with genuine gut and gumption. He is a rebel with a cause, and powers his performance with brazen audacity. Priyanka Chopra, though for a short screen time, is in her elements. Her fiesty and fiery Pinky is actually what swerves the moral compass of the film, and Chopra speaks through her eyes often to manifest this moral strife . Rajkumaar Rao is competent as the foreign returned master to Balram, but somewhere i could feel his discomfort in accentuating his english accent while mouthing his lines. The rest of the supporting cast, including Mahesh Manjrekar as the uncouth head of this wealthy family lend perfect support to the film.

Its ultimately Adarsh Gaurav who is the heart and soul of White Tiger, as he vanishes himself into Balram Halwai, rendering a kinetic magnetism to the film. Embellished with sharp editing , gorgeous cinematography of Delhi and a dark layered satire, White Tiger is palpable and a perfect ode to the inequality in our society . I am going with 4 out of 5 for White Tiger, currently streaming on Netflix. Its an extremely formidable watch, filled with zest, courage , witty dialogues and a terrific performance from the new star!!