The action film touches on political and cultural talking points that Patel hopes will inspire people to do further research. <\/p>
Dev Patel has explained how his new film, Monkey Man \u2013 which he wrote, directed and stars in \u2013 is both \u201ca Trojan horse and a gateway drug\u201d.<\/p>\n
Although the film is primarily a high-octane, brutal action flick focusing on an underground street fighter\u2019s epic quest for revenge in a fictional Indian city, it also packs in plenty of political commentary and references to Indian culture.<\/p>\n
And this was something which was very important to Patel, as he explained in an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a Trojan horse and also it\u2019s a gateway drug,\u201d he said. \u201cYou know, I didn\u2019t want it to just be like a history lesson in politics, or religion, or the caste system, or the third gender in India.<\/p> \u201cI wanted to touch on these things, and kind of bring these subjects that either people are afraid to talk about or they\u2019re kind of like figures in society that are kind of brushed away to the sides \u2013 bring them in and give them some real estate in a movie that normally should just be filled with punches and kicks.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cAnd the idea is if the film is palpable enough, if it\u2019s engaging enough, then hopefully people will go back and be like, oh, I don\u2019t know, man, Indian mythology. Who\u2019s that drummer? You know, who\u2019s that\u2026 and create a conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n The film has received rave reviews and enjoyed a rapturous reception at last month\u2019s SXSW Festival, where it had its world premiere and won the Audience Award.<\/p>\n And Patel also explained how that reception was especially meaningful to him<\/a> given the sometimes painful process of getting to the finishing line with the film.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was really pretty grim at moments,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd when it played the way it played, and we won the Audience Award, I mean, it was\u2026 yeah, it was a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n