Embracing his guilt about his Indian heritage, Dev Patel notes that his origins weren’t ‘trendy’ in Greater London
The British actor Dev Patel revealed his directorial debut, Monkey Man, which finds inspiration in Indian mythology, on an episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show. Patel openly acknowledged that he has previously struggled with embarrassment about his Indian ancestry, acknowledging that it wasn’t always seen as “cool.”
“I used to feel embarrassed about the Indian portion of my ancestry.
In Greater London, school isn’t the trendiest place to be. I’m doing all I can to avoid showing that scene, acting in movies like Slumdog Millionaire and producing these kinds of productions. “I actually realized that with my first film as director, I will not be doubling down, but rather tripling down on culture,” the actor, whose breakthrough performance came from Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, stated.
When he spoke about Monkey Man, he emphasized that the character was based on an old story about Lord Hanuman, in which the god struggles with identity and confidence loss before finding redemption with the help of underprivileged groups. This story makes for a fantastic action movie.”I grew up watching Jackie Chan, Jim Carrey, Bruce Lee, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bollywood films.” Everything is contained inside Monkey Man. The drink is what makes me, Dev went on.
Dev Patel plays a young guy in this suspenseful action thriller who is motivated to bring about justice after his mother died tragically at the hands of dishonest politicians. But his quest for retribution takes an unexpected turn, and he ends up becoming the embodiment of the Monkey Man—a ray of hope for the downtrodden. In addition to Patel, the ensemble cast features Sikandar Kher, Ashwini Kalsekar, Makarand Deshpande, Sobhita Dhulipala, and Sharlto Copley.
Notably, Patel collaborates with renowned director Jordan Peele as a producer in addition to acting in the film. Monkey Man, which had its SXSW premiere to rapturous acclaim earlier this year, seems to be an incredible cinematic experience.
