Asia Society at the Movies: The White Tiger
VIEW EVENT DETAILSMonday, 8th March, 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Asia Society is proud to announce the launch of Asia Society at the Movies, a new series of film screenings and conversations showcasing a broad range of films and filmmakers from across Asia and the Asian diaspora. “Asia Society at the Movies” celebrates established and emerging voices, contemporary films and classics, and documentaries.
Ramin Bahrani's acclaimed film The White Tiger marks actor Adarsh Gourav's debut in Hollywood, starring in a leading role alongside Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Rajkummar Rao. He has previously been part of films like Mom (2017) and web-series such as Die Trying (2018), Leila (2019) and Hostel Daze (2019). Based on the New York Times bestseller and 2008 Man Booker Prize-winning novel by Aravind Adiga, The White Tiger released on Netflix in January 2020. In the film, Balram Halwai (Adarsh Gourav) narrates his epic and darkly humorous rise from poor villager to successful entrepreneur in modern India. Cunning and ambitious, our young hero jockeys his way into becoming a driver for Ashok (Rajkummar Rao) and Pinky (Priyanka Chopra Jonas), 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 realises 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.
Asia Society Museum and Asia Society India Centre are pleased to partner with Netflix to present an exclusive conversation with the star of the film, Adarsh Gourav and film critic, journalist and author, Mayank Shekhar.
Click here to register on Zoom.
The programme will also be live-streamed on our Facebook page.
The White Tiger screening available on Netflix
- Genre: Drama
- Duration: 125 minutes
- Written for the Screen and Directed by: Ramin Bahrani
- Language: English, Hindi
- Subtitles: English
- Produced by: Mukul Deora, Ramin Bahrani
- Executive Producers: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Ken Kamins, Paul Ritchie, Prem Akkaraju, Ava Duvernay, Sarah Bremner
- Principal Cast: Adarsh Gourav, Rajkummar Rao, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Mahesh Manjrekar, Vijay Maurya, Nalneesh, Vedant Sinha
Adarsh Gourav is an actor, singer and songwriter who was born in the steel city of Jamshedpur and spent his formative years in Mumbai. He graduated from Narsee Monjee with a Bachelor’s degree and is also an alumnus of The Drama School in Mumbai.
Classically trained in Hindustani Music for more than 9 years; Adarsh has been a frontman for 2 progressive metal bands in school and college namely Steepsky and Oak Island. Oak Island has released an EP titled Aliens Can’t Jump that has been featured on the show MTV Indies-Never Hide Sounds. He has also worked with music legends such as Illayaraja and Sukhwinder Singh as a playback singer for 2 Bollywood movies; Black and White and Chal Chalein.
Adarsh has been acting since he was in his teens and over a decade long acting career so far; has been part of more than 50 TV and Digital Ad campaigns. Amongst the notable brands that he has worked with are Airtel, Cadbury, Dominos, Hotstar and Nescafe. His first role was in the Karan Johar directed, My Name is Khan starring Shahrukh Khan. He has subsequently acted in Anurag Kashyap’s Madly, starred in critically acclaimed Rukh alongside Manoj Bajpayee, and played an impactful role in Sridevi's Mom.
He has crossed over into Hollywood with his latest project starring as the titular role opposite Rajkummar Rao and Priyanka Chopra Jonas in Ramin Bahrani’s The White Tiger. Adapted from Aravind Adiga’s New York Times Bestseller and 2008 Man Booker Prize winning novel, the film released on Netflix in January 2020. Adarsh has also been part of popular web-series such as Leila, Die Trying and Hostel Daze.
(Image credit Rahul Jhangiani, Netflix © 2021)
Mayank Shekhar is the first film critic to win the Ramnath Goenka [Journalism] Award. His last book Name Place Animal Thing was a critically acclaimed, Amazon top title. His ongoing podcast Sit With Hitlist has won multiple prizes. On TV and online, Shekhar has hosted shows on NDTV 24x7, NDTV Prime, ABP News, BookMyShow, BBC Hindi, and other platforms.
Shekhar was in the founding leadership team of Mumbai Mirror [under Times group], and has been national culture editor with Hindustan Times. He’s currently entertainment head with Mid-Day newspaper, where you can follow his writings, and his weekly column, MS Word.
Asia Society at the Movies
Asia Society is proud to announce the launch of Asia Society at the Movies, a new series of film screenings and conversations showcasing a broad range of films and filmmakers from across Asia and the Asian diaspora. Asia Society at the Movies celebrates established and emerging voices, contemporary films and classics, and documentaries. The series builds on Asia Society’s long and rich history of film programming. This initiative also serves to deepen understanding of Asian cultures—a core part of Asia Society’s mission since its creation.
Learn more about the Asia Society at the Movies initiative.
About Asia Society Museum
Asia Society Museum presents a wide range of traditional, modern, and contemporary exhibitions of Asian and Asian American art, taking new approaches to familiar masterpieces and introducing under-recognized arts and artists. The Asia Society Museum Collection comprises a traditional art collection, including the initial bequests of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd, and a contemporary art collection. Through exhibitions and public programs, Asia Society provides a forum for the issues and viewpoints reflected in both traditional and contemporary Asian art and in Asia today.
About Asia Society India Centre
Asia Society India Centre presents an array of perspectives on modern Asia, cultivating nuanced understandings of Asia-Pacific affairs through diverse programming. Our initiatives include public lectures, business discussions, policy roundtables, leadership programmes, cultural summits, musical performances, film screenings, and an annual gala honouring Asian artists. The India Centre enhances dialogue, encourages creative expression, and generates ideas in the areas of business and policy, and arts and culture. Inaugurated in 2006 by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the India Centre has hosted over 700 events, establishing itself as a leading public education platform and an important forum for the discussion of regional and global affairs.