Netflix has released a new trailer for its upcoming film of Aravind Adiga’s 2008 novel, The White Tiger, which won the Man Booker Prize. The movie stars Adarsh Gourav in the lead role, co-starring with Quantico’s Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who’s co-producing the film, and National Film Award–winning Indian actor Rajkummar Rao. It will premiere on the streaming service on Jan. 22.
In the novel, self-taught Bangalore entrepreneur Balram Halwai tells the disturbing story of his eventful life. The son of a rickshaw puller, he gets a job as a driver with a powerful, wealthy landlord known as the Stork and gets to know the Stork’s son, Mr. Ashok; he finds out that the latter is involved in corrupt business practices in Delhi, where he lives with his wife, Pinky Madam. As the book reveals early on, the ambitious Balram ends up murdering and stealing from Ashok as part of his own journey to financial success. Kirkus’ 2008 review was mixed, calling the book an “undisciplined debut, but one with plenty of vitality.”
Gourav, who stars as Balram, appeared in the Hindi-language Netflix SF series Leila last year; Chopra Jonas plays Pinky Madam, and Rao plays Ashok. The White Tiger’s writer and director is Ramin Bahrani, who most recently helmed a 2018 HBO film of Ray Bradbury’s 1953 classic, Fahrenheit 451; he’s also known for his 2005 debut feature, Man Push Cart, which was nominated for multiple Independent Spirit Awards.
Watch for Kirkus’ in-depth column on The White Tiger, coming next month.
David Rapp is the senior Indie editor.
