Dev Patel gets emotional amid roaring cheers, standing ovation at world premiere of Monkey Man at SXSW 2024: “I shot this film in the biggest slum in India, Covid hit, and the film went down”

Monkey Man is set to be released on April 5, 2024.

By Bollywood Hungama News Network -

March 12, 2024 - 1:01 PM IST

Oscar nominee Dev Patel is all set to roar in theatres in April 2024! He achieves an astonishing, tour-de-force feature directing debut with the upcoming action thriller Monkey Man about one man’s quest for vengeance against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to victimize the poor and powerless systemically. Made In Heaven's Sobhita Dhulipala is all set to make her Hollywood debut with this action-packed film. And soaring at the SXSW 2024, the film had its world premiere which was met with roaring cheers, claps and standing ovation.

Dev Patel gets emotional amid roaring cheers, standing ovation at world premiere of Monkey Man at SXSW 2024: “I shot this film in the biggest slum in India, Covid hit, and the film went down”

Dev Patel, who is the producer, writer and the lead star of the film, addressed the audience on Monday night as he said, “People thought I went crazy. I’ve been away for a while. I was reading all these things on the internet ‘Where Are They Now?’ ‘What Happened to Him?' I’m not really fit for public consumption right now, I’ve been in a dark room, and the paint is literally not dry on this thing.”

“I did a little film where I was just as awkward as I am now –it’s called Slumdog Millionaire. That film was discarded because people underestimated you guys, basically,” Patel said, as reported by Deadline.

Talking about how the film faced turmoil during the shoot, he continued, “And the same thing happened here. I put everything into this, I shot this film in the biggest slum in India, Covid hit, and the film went down. Everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong. And then Jordan came along in the end, he picked up from the ground, he brushed the dust off and put it on the mantelpiece.”

Dev Patel overwhelmed by the standing ovation for Monkey Man at SXSW! #monkeyman #sxsw pic.twitter.com/66syWxC2sZ
— Tessa Smith - Mama's Geeky (@MamasGeeky) March 12, 2024

Dev Patel told the crowd that the film was inspired by his love for Bollywood, Korean and Bruce Lee movies. He has been inspired by John Wick films, comedy inspired by Johny Lever and more. He was also inspired by his grandfather who told him stories growing up. “I snuck downstairs when I was a little kid, and I watched Bruce Lee on screen through the bannister in Enter the Dragon. I’d never seen anyone who looked slightly like me before and this guy had the same pigment as me, and from that day on, I fell in love with action movies,” he said.

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 meagre living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash. After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.

“What you’re going to see is a guy who doesn’t have a quip for every scenario, isn’t the heftiest dude in the room, and doesn’t look like he’s going to win. Because he’s an underdog. And that’s what I’ve felt like my whole f**king life,” said Dev Patel.

“Basically, this is a story about an underdog, being helped by a whole other load of underdogs to realize their true power collectively. I think the action genre has sometimes been abused by the system,” said Patel, adding, “I wanted to give it real soul, real trauma, real pain and you guys deserve that. And I wanted to infuse it with a little bit of culture.

Director, producer, writer and star #DevPatel and producer @jordanpeele on the red carpet for the World Premiere of @monkeymanmovie at the #SXSW Film & TV Festival!???? pic.twitter.com/mUPGIWiLIf
— SXSW (@sxsw) March 12, 2024

Along with the premiere, Universal Pictures unveiled a new sneak peak from the film – a kitchen fight sequence. However, Patel revealed that he broke his arm during the shoot. Turns, out two weeks before the shooting commenced, he had a broken foot as well. He said, “You can see in the film, there’s a wrap on my hand.”

Are you ready? Get your #MonkeyManMovie tickets now: https://t.co/yy5aKbthNI
Only in theaters April 5. pic.twitter.com/7SIpVn4RNf
— Monkey Man (@monkeymanmovie) March 11, 2024

Packed with thrilling and spectacular fight and chase scenes, Monkey Man is directed by Dev Patel from his original story and his screenplay with Paul Angunawela and John Collee. The film’s international cast includes Sharlto Copley, Sobhita Dhulipala, Pitobash, Vipin Sharma, Ashwini Kalsekar, Adithi Kalkunte, Sikandar Kher and Makarand Deshpande.

Monkey Man is produced by Dev Patel, Jomon Thomas, Oscar winner Jordan Peele, Win Rosenfeld, Ian Cooper, Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee, Christine Haebler and Anjay Nagpal. Jonathan Fuhrman, Natalya Pavchinskya, Aaron L. Gilbert, Andria Spring, Alison-Jane Roney and Steven Thibault serve as executive producers.

Reportedly, Monkey Man was previously sold to Netflix for $30 million. However, Peele saw the movie and the potential and decided to go for a theatrical release.

Universal Pictures presents a Bron Studios production, a Thunder Road film, a Monkeypaw production, and a Minor Realm/S’Ya Concept production, in association with WME Independent and Creative Wealth Media.

Monkey Man is set to be released on April 5, 2024.