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A
revenge tale set in a fictional Indian city, the film is
inspired by the Hindu deity Hanuman, who takes the form of a
monkey and symbolises strength and courage.
It sees Patel's character Kid use his street smarts and fighting
skills to take down the town's powerful elite who caused him a
childhood trauma and who take advantage of the poor and the
vulnerable.
The script was some 12 years in the making, said Patel, 33. Once
the film went into production in India, it was shut down by the
COVID pandemic and the set eventually relocated to a small
island in Indonesia.
"It was a very chaotic process. There's just not enough hours in
the day to do all of it," said Patel, premiering the movie in
London on Monday.
"The borders closed on us, so every tailor, lighting guy,
cameraman, anyone that was off camera ended up getting in front
of camera with a speaking part. It was just a process of force
and adapting at every angle."
The Oscar-nominated actor, known for "Lion" and "Slumdog
Millionaire", said he set out to make a movie that would combine
his cinematic influences and upbringing, with social commentary
woven into the story.
"I'm a huge fan of the action genre. I wanted to kind of do an
ode to my love of that cinema, mixed with the Bollywood that I
was exposed to as a kid," he said.
"I was so fascinated by this Indian mythology my grandfather
used to tell me as a child and I wanted to give it some social
context, ground it in something plausible and real and relevant
to today's world. The film's a sort of a Trojan Horse, so to
speak."
The film's fast-paced, intense fight scenes took their toll on
Patel's body.
"I broke my foot, broke my hand, tore my shoulder, a few other
things. But it's all part and parcel of it," said Patel, adding
that his crew made t-shirts with a picture of the screw that was
used to fix his broken hand during filming.
"They're like, this is the screw that kept the production
afloat," he said.
"Monkey Man" opens in cinemas globally from April 3.
(Reporting by Hanna Rantala; Editing by Michael Perry)
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