| Monkey Man | |
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 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Dev Patel |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by | Dev Patel |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Sharone Meir |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Jed Kurzel |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 121 minutes[4] |
| Countries |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | $10 million[5] |
| Box office | $12.7 million |
Monkey Man is a 2024 action thriller film directed and co-produced by Dev Patel in his directorial debut, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Paul Angunawela and John Collee. The film stars Patel, Sharlto Copley, Pitobash Tripathy, Vipin Sharma, Sikandar Kher, Adithi Kalkunte, Sobhita Dhulipala, Ashwini Kalsekar, Makarand Deshpande, Jatin Malik and Zakir Hussain.
Monkey Man premiered at South by Southwest on March 11, 2024, and was released theatrically in the United States and Canada by Universal Pictures on April 5, 2024. The film received generally positive reviews from critics.
Plot[edit]
In a forest village in India, Kid lives with his mother Neela, who inspires him with tales of Hanuman. Baba Shakti, a ruthless spiritual guru in the nearby city of Yatana, sends Rana Singh, the corrupt police chief, to force out the villagers and acquire their land. The village is massacred, but Neela is able to hide Kid. Rana finds and kills Neela as Kid witnesses her death, leaving his hands badly scarred as the village is burned to the ground.
Years later, Kid earns a punishing living in Yatana as a monkey-masked fighter at "Tiger's Temple", a bloody underground boxing club, where he is incentivised to lose while shedding blood. Kid plots his revenge on Baba, who continues to gain followers and political influence, and Rana, who frequents "Kings", a luxury brothel run by Queenie Kapoor, who provides drugs and prostitutes to wealthy clients. To infiltrate Kings, Kid has Queenie's wallet stolen and returns it, receiving a job in the kitchen. Kid takes the alias "Bobby" from a cleaning product and befriends Alphonso, a gangster working for Queenie.
Revealing his life as a fighter, Kid helps Alphonso win a large bet on a bout in exchange for a promotion; as a waiter, Kid is able to access the VIP floor to reach Rana. Among Queenie's prostitutes is Sita, who advises Kid to give up working in such a place. Buying a gun, Kid trains a stray dog to carry the weapon past security and spikes Rana's cocaine with cleaning powder in order to confront him in the bathroom. He attempts to shoot Rana, but is foiled and forced to fight his way out of the building. Fleeing in Alphonso's supercharged tuk-tuk, Kid crashes and is arrested, but escapes through the city.
Nearly killed by an axe-wielding pimp, Kid is shot by the police during a rooftop chase and falls into a pond. He is rescued by Alpha, the keeper of a local temple of Ardhanarishvara, whose transgender community are being targeted by Baba's growing political movement. Alpha guides Kid through a hallucinogenic experience to confront the trauma of his mother's death, encouraging him to train himself in combat with a newfound purpose. When their sanctuary is threatened, Kid returns to fight at Tiger's Temple again, placing a large bet on himself. Winning over Alphonso and the crowd, Kid emerges victorious with enough money to save Alpha's temple.
During Diwali, Baba's candidate, Adesh Joshi, is elected and their nationalist party celebrates at Kings. Kid fights his way inside with improvised weapons and fireworks, where he is soon surrounded by Queenie's men. However, Alpha and her warriors arrive to help. Queenie attempts to shoot Kid, but is subdued and killed by Sita. Using Queenie's severed thumb to access the penthouse, Kid confronts Rana for a rematch and beats him to death in a brutal fistfight. Following this, Kid finally reaches Baba, who mortally wounds him with blades hidden in his padukas. Kid manages to kill Baba using the same blades, finally avenging Neela's death. Kid collapses from his injuries and reminisces about Neela and his devotion to Hanuman.
