‘I chased after it, because it’s just something the world needs to see’
Netflix film White Tiger tells a different kind of story, its stars tell Georgia Humphreys
Priyanka Chopra Jonas admits her new film, The White Tiger, will make viewers feel uncomfortable.
But it’s also the reason why she felt the story – set in India and about the rise of a poor villager named Balram, who becomes a successful entrepreneur in modern India – was one that needed to be told.
As the 38-year-old suggests, “we have become so desensitised to the life that a huge population of the world (is living); without any options, without any choices.
“Their birthright dictates their future and, coming from a family that has given me options, and given me an ability to have a voice in my own life, it really made me uncomfortable, Balram’s journey, and made me root for him – and that’s what I felt when I read the book,” says the India-born actress, who married musician Nick Jonas in 2018.
The White Tiger is based on the New York Times bestseller and 2008 Man Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name, by Aravind Adiga.
When Chopra Jonas – a major star in Bollywood, who’s also famous for US drama Quantico – learned the book was being adapted for the screen, she knew she wanted to be involved.
“I kind of chased after it, and offered my services to attach to the movie, because it’s just something that the world needs to see,” she says.
“You know, novelists in history have always had the tough task of writing stories that self-examine inherent tensions in society – and this [The White Tiger] is one of those.
“Aravind Adiga did such a great job of telling a story that is so universal, but specifically based in the class divide in India.”
The plot follows Balram (Adarsh Gourav), an ambitious young hero, as he gets a job as a driver for Ashok (Rajkummar Rao) and Pinky (Chopra-jonas), who have just returned from America. Balram makes himself indispensable, as society has trained him to be one thing – a servant.
But we see him decide to rebel after a betrayal makes him realise just how far his masters will go to trap him and save themselves.
The feature has been directed by Ramin Bahrani, who has been close friends with Adiga since they were at college together. The Iranian-american filmmaker, 45, says he knew about The White Tiger years before it was published.
“The book jumps out of your hands, especially the lead character, Balram; this poor kid from a village who grows up to be a successful entrepreneur by doing some very strange things.
“He’s just so electric, alive, sarcastic, satirical. His observations are so witty and bizarre. You just wanted to get that guy into a movie.”
The White Tiger is Bahrani’s seventh feature film, almost all of “have somehow dealt with issues of social inequality or other types of pressure; how underdogs or underclass or immigrant characters feel.
“And it’s not every day you see a movie about the servant and really get it in a nonromantic way from their perspective.”
● The White Tiger is available to watch on Netflix now