"The White Tiger" is the antidote to "Slumdog Millionaire." The latter film feels like a bunch of white guys appropriating Indian culture to tell their version of a fairy tale. "The White Tiger," by contrast, feels like a movie about India made by people who understand India.

It's an energetic, exuberant movie about the desperation that drives a poor ambitious man from a small village to murder and eventually a life of wealth and privilege. It's a dog eat dog story, almost literal in its telling and lacking any nuance, but pretty entertaining. It also feels very familiar to those of us living in places like the United States, where the lip service given to words like democracy, freedom, and capitalism are belied by the reality of those who have trampling over those who have not in the race to get even more.

I enjoyed the glimpses of modern-day India that this movie offered, even if they convinced me it's not a place I'm in any hurry to visit soon.

Grade: A-

"The White Tiger" is a film set in India and the actors are Indian as well, though the production appears made for audiences outside India who are not familiar with their political and social systems. As a result, the film explains to the audience in many portions...something I really liked and appreciated.

The story follows the life of Balram (Adarsh Gourav),a poor young man with few prospects in love other than poverty. However, he aspires to move up...to the role of a servant. For folks of his social class, this is a huge improvement with more opportunities. After obtaining a job as a driver, Balram is slavishly devoted to the family who employs him. However, again and again the family treats him like garbage. Or, they treat him well one moment and the next, he's garbage once again. Throughout the entire film, Balram keeps smiling and taking their abuse...and the viewer is left wondering will he eventually turn? Will he rise up against these cruel and unjust jerks? And, if he does....what next?!

The film is very eye-opening in its cynicism. Democratic and free India is shown as a land of hypocrisy....and cheating and even worse are what you need to be prepared to do if you want to move up to the middle and upper classes. Bribes to government officials and the police (a frequent topic in Indian films, as they seem to take this as a normal part of business) as well as contempt for the poor...this is the sort of India you see in this movie.

Overall, this is a film that starts slowly but really sucks you in due to excellent writing and a script and style that is unlike most Bollywood films I have seen. There are not song and dance routines and the story is not a nice love story...but more a documentary style film about class struggle. Well worth your time and exceptional.

Balram (Adarsh Gourav ) climbs from village rock breaker to owning his own company, working primarily as a driver for a rich man. He does enough asides as he spouts his socialist message that excludes whites. Not as entertaining as "Slumdog Millionaire" nor is there any dancing. Well done but a slow moving Horatio Alger story. Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.