'The White Tiger': Meet Priyanka Chopra-Jones, Adarsh Gourav and Rajkummar Rao, the cast of Netflix film
The film starring Priyanka Chopra-Jones is based on the New York Times bestseller 'The White Tiger', the debut novel by Indian author Aravind Adiga, which also won the 2008 Man Booker Prize.
The film's central character is however not played by Chopra-Jones. The film follows Balram Halwai, who narrates his epic and darkly humorous rise from poor villager to successful entrepreneur in modern India. Cunning and ambitious, the young hero secures a job as a driver for Ashok Sharma and his wife Pinky Madam (played by Chopra-Jones) who have just returned from America.
Society has trained Balram to be one thing — a servant — so he makes himself indispensable to his rich masters. But after a night of betrayal, he realizes the corrupt lengths they will go to trap him and save themselves. On the verge of losing everything, Balram rebels against a rigged and unequal system to rise up and become a new kind of master.
The complicated plot dives into the class and wealth divide in India and as such needed three strong performers. One, for the role of the 'servant' Balram Halwai and two for his 'masters', Ashok and Pinky. Meet the actors who bring the class politics of modern India to life in this Netflix film releasing on January 22.
Adarsh Gourav is Balram Halwai
In the novel and in the film, Balram Halwai is the "white tiger" -- which symbolizes strength since as a character he beats the odds of his lower caste and class, but it also suggests a mutation that marks him as different from those he grew up with. He is the one who got out of the "Darkness" of poverty and found his way into the "Light" of the upwardly mobile in India. Adarsh Gourav plays this complex character who starts of as a loyal underling but slowly begins resenting the corruption of the rich. Gourav, 26, is both a musician and an actor. His band Oak Island was featured on MTV Indies Never Hide Sounds for its EP titled 'Aliens Can't Jump'. He has been featured in the Netflix series 'Leila' and the Bollywood film 'My Name is Khan'. 'The White Tiger' is his first crossover Hollywood film.
Priyanka Chopra-Jones is Pinky Sharma
Priyanka Chopra-Jones is Pinky Sharma, the pampered wife of Ashok Sharma. Balram Halwai adds "Madam" to her first name as an honorific to show her respect, which is often the way 'the help' in India are trained to address the mistress of the house. The actor was in 'Sky is Pink' which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Her last release was Netflix's 'We Can Be Heroes', an American superhero film written and directed by Robert Rodriguez.
Rajkummar Rao is Ashok Sharma
Ashok Sharma is rich, upper-caste, and corrupt. He also loves his wife Pinky and will do anything to protect her while he sees Balram Halwai as disposable, taking his loyalty for granted. He is played by Rajkummar Rao, a popular actor in India who is known for his work in Hindi films. He is the recipient of several awards, including the highest film award in India, the National Film Award, and has also won the Asia Pacific Screen Award. He has starred in 'Omerta', where he portrayed the role of terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh. The film had its world premiere at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. Some of his other popular films include 'Newton', which shows the broken nature of the Indian election system, and 'Trapped', a survival movie.