The White Tiger trailer: A young man attempts to rise above his station

A young boy, groomed for a lifetime of perpetual servitude, tries to rise above his station. But his ascent comes at a great price. Adarsh Gourav plays the young Balram Halwai in a dark, satirical trailer that offers a glimpse into Ramin Bahrani's take on Aravind Adiga's 2008 Booker Prize-winning book The White Tiger. 

The trailer of the adaptation captures the complex world of the domestic help and the caste-class barrier. 

Gourav plays the cunning and ambitious Balram, who is at the heart of The White Tiger. Having schemed his way into the job of a driver for a wealthy couple (Rajkummar Rao and Chopra Jonas), Balram discovers that regardless of the relatively cushy job, he is still a servant. He then bides his time, waiting for the right opportunity. 

This works against him when the couple collude to blame him for an accident. That's when the story gets interesting and Balram finds his opportunity to turn into the white tiger. 

The trailer is sharp and displays the subtle, restrained satire that made the book enjoyable. Gourav looks the part as the alternatively scheming and naive Balram. Rao and Chopra Jonas are well cast as the US-returned couple, who find that regardless of their education and liberal values, the system is too deeply entrenched in them. Well shot, the trailer is buttressed by Queen's brilliant anthem 'I want To Break Freé' which reflects Balram's desires. 

The film was picked up by Ava DuVernay, and is being executive produced by Priyanka Chopra Jonas.

The White Tiger will be released on Netflix in January 2021.