"The White Tiger" nominated in Oscars 2021, Not something to be proud of.

 

Recently, I came to know that a movie named "THE WHITE TIGER" has been nominated in the Best Adapted Screenplay category in Oscars 2021. This movie is an adaptation of the fiction novel by Aravind Adiga released in 2008. Moreover also came to know that it is a mega-blockbuster on Netflix and is being critically acclaimed in the International market. Now this made me inquisitive and I switched on to Netflix to know about it.

The depiction of the movie is decade-old citing the real India of 2007 which revolves around the class system, slavery, poverty, religious discrimination to name a few. Now my point is that today in the 21st century when we are embarking towards New India which has concepts of Make In India, Aatmanirbhar Bharat and empowering the poor of the poorest, what is the need to depict India on the matters that might be prevalent in some cases but not fully.

At the beginning of the movie, the protagonist projects India as 2 countries in one: "An India of Light and An India of Darkness", now contrary to this statement, today all villages in India have access to electricity as announced by Prime Minister of India, so why are we picturizing our country globally with the facts that are old and are no longer valid in the current scenario. To add to this further, the protagonist is being asked that has he ever heard about the term "Internet" to which he remains baffled and replies with a "No". Today our country has the cheapest mobile broadband price in the world and has more rural net users than urban. By projecting the real India we are missing out on the initiatives that have already reached a milestone for empowering the poor of the poorest. We are projecting an image to the international audience which no longer holds true barring some like the class system which is still prevalent.

It makes me feel more annoyed to see that while focusing on the class system, the protagonist believes himself to be a born slave though no one forces him to believe so. Throughout the film he is being ill-treated, is being made to work on other household activities which is probably not meant for him. He still continues to accept the slavery of his masters and never wishes to break the barriers of his frustration which is arousing within him. Why the director forgets that India has the largest democracy and no one is bound to be a slave of someone.

The protagonist is a sharp-minded individual who can set his own path and break-free from all barriers that he had chosen to bound himself. He forgets that his teacher had already termed him as a "White Tiger". Now to set himself free he murders his master. Was it necessary? Was it the only option left for him? Couldn't he have chosen some other course of action to set himself free?

Throughout the movie the focus is on poverty and there are many instances where India is only being projected as a poor country. Is this the only way to portray our country and garner international acclaim?

In my opinion, portraying a decade old India as a real India in the 21st century is clearly not acceptable. The Govt is continuously working to establish India as a powerful country all over the world and showcasing one side of India can again tarnish the image of a New India.

We need to stop focusing on poverty and move towards the ideas which can change the mindset of the Western World. Getting acclaims from the foreign audience by projecting the poverty of our country is not something to be proud of.

 

Note: As my blog says Speak Your Mind, that is what I have done by penning down my opinions to which some of you might agree while some might not.

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