*** Contains spoilers.
Positives first: The actors and the technical team behind this movie have done a fantastic job.
Why the one star:
"The White Tiger" is a visually striking film, but I found its portrayal of poverty in India unsettling and problematic. It seems tailored to a Western audience, leaning heavily on stereotypes that depict the poor as helpless and trapped in a cycle they can only escape through crime. This approach feels dehumanizing, reducing people to mere victims of their circumstances.
The concept of the "rooster coop" particularly bothered me. It suggests that if you're born poor, you're destined to stay that way unless you resort to unethical means, like crime or corruption. This narrative dismisses the hard work, determination, and ambition that so many people rely on to lift themselves out of poverty. It sends a troubling message that success is only attainable for the poor if they abandon their morals, which is far from the truth.
I was also disturbed by the protagonist's lack of remorse after committing murder. It felt like the film was undermining the real struggles and sacrifices that people in poverty make every day, instead portraying a world where poverty and morality can't coexist. While "The White Tiger" might be captivating on the surface, its underlying message is oversimplified and problematic, failing to do justice to the real complexities of poverty and social mobility in India.