Monkey Man, Dev Patel’s feature film debut, is a box office hit in Hollywood! Those who saw the film on Monday night at SXSW describe it as a thrilling action story about a young man seeking revenge for the death of his mother, as well as an emotional and visually stunning experience.
Beyond making a highly anticipated and impressive directing debut, the 33-year-old star of Slumdog Millionaire has succeeded in bringing Indian mythology to a wider audience in Hollywood films. Nobody else has accomplished this feat.
Inspired by Lord Hanuman, Monkey Man is a Mumbai-based film. Dev disclosed that his grandfather had told him the stories of Lord Hanuman and the Ramayana when he was a little boy. Following the Monday showing, Dev gave the audience an explanation of how and why he was inspired by Lord Hanuman. As a god, Hanuman represents fidelity, love, courage, strength, humility, and self-control. Additionally, Dev’s character in the movie, Kid, possesses these attributes as well.
“Hanuman really captivated me. He has been sort of an emblem for my father and many in my family. If you go to any gym in India, there’s Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ronnie Coleman and Hanuman. What baffled me growing up was this iconography of this super-strong being who could hold mountains in one hand and split his chest open. It reminded me of the iconography of Superman. I was like, this is amazing, I wish the world knew about it. When you go deep into it, he is sort of a guy who has lost faith in himself and had to be reminded of who he was,” said the Lion actor, who hails from a Gujarati Hindu family.
However, Monkey Man goes far beyond, particularly into sociopolitical themes, the Indian caste system, and the pervasive exploitation of Indian society. Dev added, “I really wanted to touch on caste system in India, the idea where the poor are at the bottom, slaving away in these kitchens, then you go to the land of the kings and above them, you have God, a man-made god that is polluting and corrupting religion, and then you have heaven.”
The Last Airbender star, who co-wrote the screenplay with Paul Angunawela and John Collee, has introduced Indian mythology to a global audience by creating a narrative that resonates with and makes sense to them. He brought together his two greatest hobbies, which are action flicks and the stories his grandfather used to tell, to create a world that has captivated Western viewers. While SS Rajamouli brought a piece of Indian history to the world with his Telugu film RRR, Dev has pushed the boundaries even farther with his Hollywood action movie, Indian mythology inspired, set in India but appealing to a worldwide audience.
There have been many Indian films inspired by the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and Indian filmmakers continue to tap into these epics for stories. However, this is the first time that the West has been exposed to a mainstream Hollywood film that has its roots in these epics and set in an Indian milieu. What Dev has done is successfully combine elements of Indian cinema (mother sentiment, Mumbai milieu, revenge story, caste, etc) with the Hollywood action genre, and possibly created a new genre of cinema that has takers.
With the incredible reception that Dev Patel’s film garnered at SXSW, Monkey Man—which is scheduled for release on April 5, 2024—will hopefully encourage more filmmakers in India and possibly the West to include Indian mythology in their mainstream productions.
