Movie review
January 13, 2021 · 125 min · R
Woke Score
Lower is better
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The White Tiger.
Woke representation / casting
Casting uses Indian performers in roles that match the Indian setting and caste/class story; Priyanka Chopra Jonas plays a returning elite wife without quota-style emphasis or identity signaling.
Woke political dialogue
Characters discuss servitude, bribes, and family pressure in Indian terms; crude language appears but no lectures on patriarchy, systemic racism, or Western-style equity.
Identity-driven story themes
Lower-caste background and the “rooster coop” metaphor of permanent servitude form the core conflict, shown through Balram’s personal cunning rather than collective activism or modern identity politics.
Western institutional / cultural critique
The film targets Indian caste, corrupt landlords, and political elites; it offers no framing of Western patriarchy, toxic masculinity, family norms, or anti-conservative social messages.
Review
The White Tiger tells the story of Balram, a poor lower-caste driver from rural India who uses wit, lies, and murder to climb into the wealthy class and start his own business. The film adapts Aravind Adiga’s novel as a dark, satirical look at India’s deep class divides, caste system, corruption, and the “rooster coop” trap that keeps servants in place. Caste and class struggles drive the plot and character choices in a visible way, but the story stays focused on one man’s ruthless individual rise rather than activist messaging or modern identity campaigns.
Woke character or canon changes
The adaptation follows the novel’s events and characters without identity-driven swaps or reinterpretations.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
No notable right-leaning or anti-woke complaints accused the film of pushing DEI, queer themes, or identity politics; available criticism centered on Western-gaze stereotypes instead.
Creator track record context
Ava DuVernay’s social-justice producing history raises the number slightly, yet Ramin Bahrani and Aravind Adiga focus on class and Indian societal flaws without patterns of queer activism, anti-patriarchy framing, or representation-first storytelling.
Production
