How a Chicken changes Stripes: The White Tiger Review

Of the most recent “Top 10” viewed features on Netflix in January of 2021 the most eye catching of them is the striking film, “The White Tiger.” A movie ripe with revenge, independence, and the ability to escape social complacency purely for the sake of self benefit.

Taking place in India in the early 2000’s, the film presents a setting where culture and family are at the center of everything with no tolerance for anything outside the norm. Giving a commonly held impression of the native culture of India, but how exact this may be is uncertain.

Nevertheless, our protagonist, Balram, is still the victim of this culture as traditions attempt to subjugate him at every turn. He himself is more than willing to comply with most of it, yet this compliance earns him no benefit.

Balram is born in a small village to a large family that is dependent on each other to a fault. From an early age he shows signs of standing out from the crowd and is told he can be promised a future if he continues.

Such promise is dashed away by the first of several antagonists yet to come, his grandmother. A manipulative matriarch that pulls him out of school and forces him to work in the family tea shop from a young age.

Families are guilty of this in U.S. culture as well for survival in a harsh world. However, Kushma presents no real consideration for the livelihood of her own family, only financial benefit.

With the arrival, Ashok, the youngest son of the rich, former landlord of Balram’s village, Balram finds a new opportunity for a better life. Gaining his grandmother’s consent, he leaves for Bangalore to become a driver for Ashok.

Ashok and his wife Pinky, having both been raised in the U.S., are not steeped in India’s traditions and treat Balram more humanely than most others thus far. Both introduce Balram to concepts that make him consider self improvement, as well as self-worth.

Early on in the story Balram introduces the concept of the “chicken coop” to describe the complacency of the people of India to the caste system and traditions that limit them. It is described as a grisly concept similar to that of the American “rat race” that is referenced more in the economic system.

The point is that no matter the situation a servant would never betray their masters, even if given the express opportunity to do so. Balram is a chicken in this coop of inevitable servitude, until a car accident by Pinky and Ashok leads to his downfall.

He is asked to sign a confession in the event that the couple are identified and accused for the crime. The injustice stresses Pinky to leave in the middle of the night, driving Ashok into a depression he blames on Balram.

Over time Balram has become a little more opportunistic to take advantage of others to become more independent. With the recent situation adding to his desire to escape the coop he was made for he is driven to the gruesome climax that affords him freedom along with wealth.

Not to spoil anymore than has already been done, but this story holds some striking comparisons to “Pariste.” However, this story has english speaking sections and a protagonist who initially wants solemn prosperity.

At times Balram’s actions seem underhanded when stops sending his family money or taking advantage of Ashok financially. On the other hand, he falls in a grey at the minimum for having to put up with verbal as well as physical abuse consistently throughout the film.

By the end viewers feel what happens to all the antagonists of the film is more than valid. Whether that be the Kushma, Ashok, Ashok’s family and anyone else who supports the system that approved of what happened to Balram.

The title of the film comes from a rare type of animal that Balram is compared to at the beginning of the film. An animal from a saying that is meant to imply that people can not change their core nature.

Change in places that systematically restrict people is rare, despite this, with enough opportunity and rebelliousness it can occur. “The White Tiger” is honest in its presentation of this by showing how change does not look as glorious as we like to think.

There are even moments that Balram himself does not appear to be in the right on decisions he makes. The ending even implies he is a new antagonist in the system.

The film is thoroughly enjoyable with a story that reaches out to anyone who feels as though they are trapped in a culture that moraley uproots them. It is suggested to anyone who liked “Parasite” or “The Favorite.”

The film gets an 8 out of 10 for the emotionally racking story that it tells. Plus, for the shot it takes at “Slumdog Millionaire” towards the end of the film.

Originally posted at https://meninblogs.com/how-a-chicken-changes-stripes-the-white-tiger-review/ .