Production Budget Analysis

The production budget for The White Tiger (2021) has not been publicly disclosed.

CAST: Adarsh Gourav, Rajkummar Rao, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Mahesh Manjrekar, Vijay Maurya, Kamlesh Gill DIRECTOR: Ramin Bahrani CINEMATOGRAPHY: Paolo Carnera MUSIC: Danny Bensi, Saunder Jurriaans PRODUCTION: Lava Media, Noruz Films, ARRAY Filmworks, India Take One Productions, Purple Pebble Pictures

Box Office Performance

Theatrical box office data is not publicly available for The White Tiger (2021). This may indicate a limited release, direct-to-streaming, or a release predating modern box office tracking.

Profitability Assessment

Insufficient publicly available data to assess profitability.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Writing

While Bahrani added and deleted a few sequences and adapted the character for the screen, the story stays largely faithful to the novel. He stated: "The hardest part was cutting things out, since I love the book so much. But when I put all of it in the script, it came to 200 pages! Aravind gave me a wealth of gold and cutting it is just not easy.” Initially, he considered updating the story (set in 2005) to a more recent setting, before abandoning the idea, as it is a period film. In the making of the script Baharani stated "One of the biggest changes today is that thing in your hand, the supercomputer. In today's world, Balram wouldn't be writing emails, he'd probably be doing video or Instagram. This is only the second time in my life that I've adapted a book and I wanted to stick to it."

▸ Casting

Bahrani turned down some established stars for the part of Balram: “I had an opportunity to talk with a lot of actors, stars that you might know, Bollywood stars who are all incredible. But at a certain point, while I was in India, I felt that the lead actor should be from India and preferably unknown. I just felt it matched the character and the story of an underdog." Rajkummar Rao was also selected to play a prominent role in the film, along with Priyanka Chopra Jonas, despite serving as the co-producer. Before filming, Bahrani spent months in India, riding local buses, visiting the places Adiga had written about, and meeting scores of people, before eventually meeting Adarsh Gourav. Gourav prepared for his role by living anonymously in a remote village in Jharkhand and working for 12 hours a day, washing plates.

▸ Filming & Locations

Both Rao and Jonas prepared for the sequences, with the actors beginning the script reading session, before the start of the shoot. The principal shoot of the film began in October 2019, with the cast and crew being present for the shoot, excluding Jonas, due to her involvement in the promotion of The Sky Is Pink (2019). Jonas joined the sets of the film's shooting in Delhi, on 2 November 2019, and while shooting for the series, she posted her picture on Instagram, with a caption stating that "it is too hard to shoot here", citing the climatic conditions and air pollution prevailing in the city. The White Tiger, was filmed mostly in Delhi, serving as the principal location. The shooting of the film was wrapped on 15 December 2019.

[Filming] Both Rao and Jonas prepared for the sequences, with the actors beginning the script reading session, before the start of the shoot. The principal shoot of the film began in October 2019, with the cast and crew being present for the shoot, excluding Jonas, due to her involvement in the promotion of The Sky Is Pink (2019). Jonas joined the sets of the film's shooting in Delhi, on 2 November 2019, and while shooting for the series, she posted her picture on Instagram, with a caption stating that "it is too hard to shoot here", citing the climatic conditions and air pollution prevailing in the city. The White Tiger, was filmed mostly in Delhi, serving as the principal location. The shooting of the film was wrapped on 15 December 2019.

▸ Music & Score

The White Tigers original score is composed by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurrians. Its soundtrack album features reused compilations of various songs from independent artists, which ranges from different timelines. Two of the songs "Akh Lar Gayee" and "O Murari Re", were used as montages (songs that drive along with the storyline). The film features a promotional song "Jungle Mantra", which describes the life of Balram's character (Adarsh Gourav). Performed by Divine, along with American rappers Vince Staples, Pusha T and Jawadista, the song was released on 15 January 2021.

The score produced by Bensi and Jurrians, for the film, features Indian-inspired themes and sounds.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Summary: Nominated for 1 Oscar. 7 wins & 17 nominations total

CRITICAL RECEPTION

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 91% based on 164 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Well-acted and beautifully made, The White Tiger distills the strengths of its source material into a grimly compelling drama." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 76 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal called the film "funny and ferocious" and described it as "a zestful epic blessed with rapier wit, casually dazzling dialogue, gorgeous cinematography and, at the center of it all, a sensational star turn by [...] Adarsh Gourav". Rating the film 3.5 stars out of 4, Michael Phillips of Chicago Tribune termed the film a "propulsive adaptation", writing: "The cast brings an edge and a drive to the telling, while cinematographer Paolo Carrera captures both the real-life grit and the dreamy, aspirational glamour of Balram's unsentimental education." David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "An immersive plunge into the chasm separating the servant class from the rich in contemporary India, the drama observes corruption at the highest and lowest levels with its tale of innocence lost and tables turned. If there's simply too much novelistic incident stuffed into the overlong film's Dickensian sprawl, the three leads' magnetic performances and the surprising twists of the story keep you engrossed." The Timess Kevin Maher rated the film four out of five stars, noting the film as "a dizzy, woozy, taxi ride to the dark side" and praised Chopra Jonas' performance, calling her "impressive". Anna M. M. Vetticad of Firstpost criticised the poor dialogue and “the erroneous assumption that caste has given way to class in modern India”, but appreciated the rewriting of Chopra Jonas’ character.