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Munna Balram Halwai, the White Tiger, seeks to prepare the Chinese leader for his upcoming trip to India, offering advice as an Indian entrepreneur, one who became successful after murdering his employer Mr. Ashok and fleeing to Bangalore.
Jan 16, 2023 · The White Tiger is clearly exhorting for an end of the current hegemonic system: summoning the individual to step up and fight. That is why it Balram is such a relatable embodiment of class inequity, nepotism, and favoritism.
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Jan 21, 2021 · The White Tiger review: A dark but exhilarating satire of capitalism Adapted from Aravind Adiga’s Booker Prize-winning novel, the film takes a dark turn – one fuelled by bitterness,...
- 2 min
- Clarisse Loughrey
- The Frame Story
- Village Life
- Driving Lessons
- Family Business
- The Delhi Trip
- The Aftermath
- The Election
- The Killing
- Back to Business
The novel is formatted as eight lengthy emails written over the course of a week by the protagonist, Balram Halwai, to then–Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. The catalyzing event is an All India Radioannouncement of Wen’s upcoming trip to the Indian city of Bangalore—essentially the subcontinent’s Silicon Valley—to meet with local entrepreneurs. Balram, ...
Much of the genesis of Balram’s story remains the same. In both novel and film, young Balram (played by Harshit Mahawar) hails from a remote village in the state of Bihar called Laxmangarh (a different town from the one of the same name in Rajasthan) and from a big family of a lower caste most often recognized as consisting of “sweet-makers.” Balra...
In the book, Balram sets out to become a professional driver after learning how much money personal chauffeurs for India’s plutocrats make, getting Kusum to invest in driving classes. After his lessons, Balram goes around to various houses and begs for a driving job until he just happens to stumble upon the residence of the Stork. Coincidentally, t...
After Balram is hired, he gets a covered room in the Stork’s house, shared with the family’s other driver, Ram Persad (Ram Naresh Diwakar). Ram Persad has a higher status than Balram as the “No. 1 driver,” meaning he gets to drive the family’s nicest car, a Mitsubishi Pajero (in the book, a Honda City), while Balram is not allowed to even touch Ram...
In the movie, Balram spies on Ram’s solo ventures outside the house almost immediately and discovers Ram is secretly Muslim—secretly, because the Stork and his family are open Islamophobes. He later uses this to his advantage when he hears Ram has been assigned to drive Ashok and Pinky to Delhi, by threatening to reveal Ram’s secret unless he leave...
After all this, in both novel and film, Pinky walks out on Ashok and has Balram drive her to the airport. Ashok becomes extremely upset, falling into an alcoholic stupor, while Balram takes care of him. The overall nature of their post-Pinky relationship develops differently on page and screen: In the movie, Balram takes Ashok to a nice restaurant ...
Meanwhile, the Great Socialist wins her election, and Balram and Ashok drive to a celebratory rally. Ashok worries about his own prospects but greets the Great Socialist warmly as she enters the car. He offers her 1 million rupees, but her aide says he knows Ashok paid the opposition party and demands four times that amount from him, making clear t...
Balram decides to murder Ashok, steal the money, and begin a new life. This crime forms The White Tiger’s climax, though the timeline differs in the adaptation from the original story. In the film, Balram drives through a rainstorm to pick up Ashok, who says Pinky called and asked him to move to New York, though he doesn’t want to. Balram pulls ove...
The endings of both the movie and film are more or less the same: Balram and Dharam make it to Bangalore, where they hide for a few weeks before resurfacing and exploring the city. Balram decides to get into the outsourcing business after noticing how many cars are needed to take workers to call centers and deciding he can provide that transportati...
- Nitish Pahwa
Much like Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses, The White Tiger explores the tremendous disparities between rich and poor, Muslim and Hindu, that exist in post-1947 India, when the newly ...
Summary The White Tiger Balram Halwai writes Wen Jiabao, a Chinese dignitary set to visit India soon to tell him about the reality of life in India, a story only he can tell as a successful entrepreneur. A schoolteacher gave Balram his name, as he had been known at home simply as Munna, or "boy."
This study guide for Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger offers summary and analysis on themes, symbols, and other literary devices found in the text. Explore Course Hero's library of literature materials, including documents and Q&A pairs.
