‘The White Tiger’ Ending Explained

Warning: This article contains The White Tiger spoilers.

The White Tiger ending is, quite intentionally, the dark, satirical opposite of the ending to Slumdog Millionaire. When Slumdog Millionaire first opened it 2008, it was dubbed “the feel-good film of the decade” by the now-defunct paper, News of the World. And it was. Though Dev Patel’s character—a poor, 18-year-old Indian kid accused of cheating on a game show—suffers extreme poverty, emotional trauma, and physical torture, it all works out in the end. After two hours of witnessing the hardships of India’s poorest class, the audience was rewarded with a million-dollar prize, confetti, true love’s kiss, and, of course, the now-iconic Bollywood dance number to “Jai Ho.” It was the movie that made Americans feel great about poverty in India, and it won eight Oscars for its trouble.

That same year, a novel from debut author Aravind Adiga won the 40th Man Booker Prize. It was called The White Tiger, and on Friday, Netflix released the film adaptation, directed by Ramin Bahrani. Much like Slumdog, the hero of The White Tiger is a poor villager from India who, by the end of the film, finds himself a very wealthy man. And, much like Slumdog, The White Tiger attempts to explain poverty in India to Western audiences. But the journey couldn’t be more different. You will not come away from The White Tiger smiling—unless you’re laughing at the dark satire of it all. Though it came out only a few months after Slumdog Millionaire premiered, Adiga’s story—especially the ending—feels in many ways like a direct response to director Danny Boyle’s optimism. But before we get into The White Tiger ending explained, let’s talk about the story set-up.

What is The White Tiger about?

The White Tiger is framed around a letter written by the fictional Balram Halwai (Adarsh Gourav) to a Chinese government official, which narrates his rise from rags to riches. Balram was a brilliant child who was forced to quit school and start working at a teashop, to help pay off his father’s debts. When his father dies of illness, after traveling two days to a village with a hospital only to not be seen by a doctor, Balram observes, “Election promises have taught me how important it is not to to be a poor man in a free democracy.”

In adulthood, Balram manages to convince a wealthy family to hire him as driver, despite his subpar driving skills, and he is convinced this is but the first step on the ladder to success. Spoiler alert: It’s not. Balram devotes his entire life to his new master Ashok (Rajkummar Rao) and his master’s girlfriend, Pinky (Priyanka Chopra). They are both young and they have both spent time in America. They both claim to despise the unjust caste system in India that has servants like Balram washing the feet of the wealthy in mansions, while Balram resides in a dirty basement. But they are inconsistent. One minute, Pinky and Ashok insist Balram is their equal, their friend. The next they are making out in the backseat as he drives, treating him more like a dog than a human being. But Balram doesn’t see just how little they actually care about him until Pinky kills a child in a hit-and-run while drunk-driving.

Balram, who was in the backseat when the incident happened, sees this moment as the ultimate test of loyalty to his master. He doesn’t hesitate. He would never betray his masters. But they betray him. Ashok’s family forces Balram to sign a letter of confession that says he was the driver; that he, and he only, is responsible for the death of the child. Ashok half-heartedly protests, but otherwise doesn’t fight for Balram. He’d much rather throw Balram’s life away than his own. Balram realizes in this moment that no matter how hard he works, no matter how loyal he is, and no matter how often Ashok insists they are friends, the wealthy class will never save him. Why would they? They have it made. They have everything. They can, quite literally, get away with murder.

“I was trapped in the rooster coop,” Balram says. “And don’t believe for a second there’s a million-rupee game show you can win to get out of it,” he adds, in the film’s only direct hit to its Oscar-winning predecessor.

What is The White Tiger ending, explained?

When Balram realizes that his employer will never be his savior from poverty, he shifts tactics. He begins to steal from Ashok, asking for money for repairs he doesn’t need and taking other driving jobs on the side. He also has money from Pinky, who gave him some before he left, but none of it is nearly enough to escape the city and restart his life. It’s not even enough for one Johnny Walker Black. On top of all that, he suspects that Ashok is about to fire him, and his mother has sent his nephew to deliver a message that he is arranged to be married, whether he likes it or not.

One day, Balram notices Ashok has a bag of cash—a large bribe that his family is supposed to deliver to the parliament, revealing that the Great Socialist, despite her talk of supporting the working class, is corrupt. While driving Ashok to the Parliament house, Balram fakes car trouble. He insists Ashok get out to help him. Then, when his back is turned to examine the vehicle, Balram bludgeons Ashok to death with a broken-off bottle.

He steals Ashok’s bag of money—the 4 million rupees that the Great Socialist requested after winning the election—and uses it to escape the city with his nephew. He starts his own taxi business in Bangalore. Using a tip from Ashok about “outsourcing,” he gets the idea to bribe the local government to get rid of his competition. The local police then arrest all of the other drivers in the area for “expired licenses,” paving the way for Balram to start his taxi empire, White Tiger Drivers. Balram finally escapes the “rooster coop,” as he calls the servant class. He adds that he is never caught for his murder because he has the same face as every man in India.

When he cheerfully concludes his narration with, “And that’s how I got my own start-up!” you can’t help but laugh, even though it’s not particularly funny.

There is no love, no beauty, and certainly no Bollywood dance number in The White Tiger ending. Where Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle left you feeling all warming and fuzzy inside—a big smile on your face as you left the theater—Ramin Bahrani opts for more “sad, empty, and hopeless” tone. Balram reads in the paper about the murder of his relatives—retaliation from Ashok’s family—without a hint of remorse on his face. Instead, he looks approvingly at his nephew, who demands ice cream as if he were the ruthless dictator of a country. It’s a chilling performance from Gourav that will leave you cold on the inside; the polar opposite of the hope that Dev Patel’s charm inspires.

When asked whether he considered his book to be the “evil twin” of Slumdog Millionaire—which was also based on a book by Vikas Swarup—The White Tiger author Adiga told Fiction Writers Review, “I can tell you this much: if I were born poor (as most Indians are), and I were a servant, I wouldn’t be pinning much hope on winning a TV show in order to win my freedom.”

Watch The White Tiger on Netflix

Where to watch Slumdog Millionaire