Dev Patel & Monkey Man Cast Talk Gritty Action Thriller, “Superb” Direction & Introduction To Indian Cinema [SXSW]

Monkey Man follows an anonymous young man who sets out on a personal mission to avenge his mother’s murder by taking down those responsible. He faces countless obstacles as he targets the corrupt leaders who killed his mother, but his perseverance and refusal to give up lead to a larger cause. While still fueled by revenge, he becomes a savior for the poor and powerless, who have been tormented by those in power.

Monkey Man is a monumental accomplishment for Dev Patel, making his mark as both a director and an action star, being best known for his Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated work in the likes of Slumdog Millionaire, The Personal History of David Copperfield and The Green Knight. Patel not only brings innovative action sequences to the movie but also explores themes of religion and culture through the tropes of the action-revenge genre, including the caste system in India. The action is visceral and primal, while the camera work brings the audience directly into the fights.

Screen Rant spoke with the cast of Monkey Man at the world premiere during SXSW. We caught up with director and star Dev Patel, who explained how he felt during the Hollywood moment of Jordan Peele helping to get Monkey Man into theaters. Other cast members included Sobhita Dhulipala, Sikandar Kher, and Vipin Sharma, who discussed their experience with Patel helming the movie and the global growth of Bollywood cinema.

Monkey Man‘s Journey To Screen Was “A Bumpy Road”

In addition to a grueling shoot that led to a broken hand during filming his first action scene for the movie, Patel encountered a unique experience in Monkey Man as Oscar winner Jordan Peele stepped in and helped Universal acquire the rights from Netflix to give the action-thriller a theatrical release. Patel was even filming an entirely different project when he heard of Peele’s interest:

It was pretty amazing. I was doing a very low-budget film in Yorkshire, chasing sheep. And then I get a call from my agents at CAA, and they’re like, “Hey, Jordan Peele’s seen your film, and he wants to talk to you.” I was like, “What?!”

Amid the rollercoaster of emotions in “a real Hollywood moment,” Patel came to learn in his conversation with Peele that he couldn’t have asked for someone better to be a collaborator on the movie:

It’s a real Hollywood moment, and then the next minute, I’m on a Zoom call with Jordan. We spoke for like three hours, and I knew he was going to be a great collaborator. He kind of picked this film up off the floor, dusted it off, and put it back on the mantelpiece. For that, I’m ever grateful to him.

The Monkey Man Cast Won’t Divulge Much About Their Characters (But Tease Their Complex Layers)

While the action may be the most hyped element of the movie, Monkey Man offers deeper layers regarding its story and its characters, all of which fascinated its cast. Sobhita Dulipala had an interesting analogy for how her character is more than initially meets the eye:

Sobhita Dulipala: I play someone who, on the surface, she’s graceful, and she’s glamorous, but underneath that, there’s a certain, quiet grief, I think. It’s tender on the inside, crusty on the outside. Like a good pizza. [Laughs]

Though Dulipala is willing to tease some of what’s to come from her character, Sikandar Kher and Vipin Sharma are a little more cautious with sharing details for their parts. Sharma, in particular, teases that his character, Alpha, has a very different appearance from his own, while Kher promises his character is “pure evil“. Check out the little bit they shared with Screen Rant below:

Vipin Sharma: My part is a bit of a mystery. I don’t want to say anything about it, because my look is not the way I look. I look completely different. Movie is amazing. We worked very hard on it during the pandemic, so we were all in one island all together, you know, scared every day, “I hope nothing happens.” We did a prayer the very first day — we had an Indonesian prayer, and then we had some Korean sage that we burned from the natives in Canada, and that’s how we started.

Sikandar Kher: Well, his name is Rana, and he’s pure evil. The film deals with a lot of revenge, it’s all about vengeance. And it’s about what happens. I’m not gonna divulge a lot about the film right now, but yeah, there’s a lot of action in it. Rana is the reason why a lot of stuff actually happens. I mean, there are a lot of people, which is why a lot of stuff happens, but yeah, he’s a mean guy.

Patel’s First-Time Direction Felt Like Anything But For The Monkey Man Cast

Making a directorial debut is an intimidating task for any filmmaker, particularly with a movie as large and action-packed as Monkey Man. Yet, despite the stress Patel felt behind the camera, his cast never found themselves lacking on set, with many even feeling that Patel’s acting experiences instead made him as effective a first-time director as any seasoned vet. Check out what Kher, Sharma, and Dulipala shared about Patel’s direction below:

Vipin Sharma: My favorite memory of him is looking at himself on the iPad [chuckles], and also instructing the camera people. That was quite fascinating to see an actor — I have also directed, so it’s interesting to see how you see yourself, which is one of the most difficult things, actually.

Sikandar Kher: As a director, I think he’s just absolutely phenomenal as a director. The relationship between a director and an actor is a very tender one, has to really be looked after. And the communication with an actor from a director is extremely important, too, for me, as an actor, to give out my best. So, he really gets it out really well. He’s been an actor himself, but at no point did I feel that it was his first film. It was just superb, he was superb to work with.

Sobhita Dulipala: You know, to be honest, I’ve said this here before, all actors want to be part of films by amazing accomplished filmmakers that are incredible. But I think to be trusted by a first-time filmmaker to be part of his birthing process, that sort of working as one unit, that’s really special, I think, and I feel really privileged.

The Monkey Man Cast Are Thrilled About Indian Cinema’s Growing Influence & Share Their Recommendations

More than just continuing the trend of practical-driven fights in the action genre that the John Wick franchise made popular, Monkey Man also continues Indian cinema’s influence on the global cinematic stage. Partially kickstarted by the 2022 Oscar winner RRR, various releases have made their way into the box office Top 10 in recent years, with Patel’s movie serving as a unique bridge between American productions and Indian-based ones. With this growth in popularity, Sharma and Kher had very particular recommendations for newcomers to these movies, while Dulipala found it a little more difficult to choose just one:

Vipin Sharma: A lot of filmmakers in India, unfortunately, they are not very known outside India. There is a filmmaker, Chaitanya Tamhane, he made a beautiful film called Court. It’s about the workings of a court system, how slow and how painful it can get. That’s what comes to my mind right now.

Sikandar Kher: Oh, my god. Well, that’s a tough question. I’ll say Monica, O My Darling, because I’m in it. [Laughs]

Sobhita Dulipala: That’s tough! I just introduced them to streaming platforms, because there’s libraries of it. There’s so much material that’s churned out from India, and such diverse kinds. You have your glossy, exciting action-thrillers to your really emotional countryside stories. There’s such a variety, and I don’t think I’d be able to pick one. There’s so many colors.

About Monkey Man

Inspired by the legend of Hanuman, an icon embodying strength and courage, Monkey Man stars Patel as Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash.

Check out our interview with Monkey Man director and star Dev Patel.