Monkey Man

Dev Patel took the idea to his Chappie director Neill Blomkamp, who passed and told him to direct it. Planned for India in early 2020, the shoot was pushed by the pandemic to a small island in Batam, Indonesia. Patel broke his hand in the first action sequence and two toes when a stuntman dropped an axe on his foot. Kid is paid to wear the mask and lose, so the early bouts are deliberately bad fighting, with real skill kept in reserve. His revenge runs back to the Hanuman stories his mother told; his refuge is a temple of Ardhanarishvara sheltering the city’s hijra community. Netflix bought most of the distribution rights in 2021 for 30 million dollars, then quietly shopped the film around and nearly cancelled the release. Jordan Peele joined as producer and got Universal to take it off Netflix for under 10 million; it earned 35 million worldwide and never opened in India. At the 78th BAFTA Awards Patel was nominated for outstanding debut, won by Kneecap’s Rich Peppiatt. A good fit if you want a revenge picture that opens with the hero paid to lose, keeping his real skill back. Not for viewers who would skip the close bloody detail the BBFC itemises in its 18 rating; a gunshot wound is cauterised with heated metal.