Dev Patel pulls no punches in Monkey Man, his directorial debut, set in the fictional Indian city of Yatana.
The story is a rip-roaring journey through India's seedy underworld, following Kid (played by Patel), a boy traumatised by the death of his mother (Adithi Kalkunte). He seeks revenge on the people he deems responsible – namely the city's corrupt police and leadership.
Initially earning what little money he can in an underground fight club (while wearing a monkey mask, of course), Kid manages to infiltrate one of the city's elite establishments to find – and kill – the people who took everything from him.
Monkey Man is a watch-behind-your-hands action with Patel at his most violent. Despite his actual on-set injuries, Patel more than holds his own in the film's many brutal fight scenes, whether that's in the ring or using his teeth to end a combatant in a lift.
But while the film is a stellar addition to the genre, and a much-needed diversion from the glut of white male leads, Monkey Man has something deeper to say.
The film starts with a flashback to Kid as a young boy, listening to his mother tell the story of the Hindu deity Hanuman.
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Credited with being strong, courageous and self-disciplined, Hanuman is also known for overcoming challenge and adversity, something that's clearly woven into Kid's narrative. These flashbacks pull out throughout the film to reveal exactly what happened to Kid's mother, who was assaulted and murdered by police officer Rana (Sikandar Kher).
The attack comes after it's decided that Kid's village sits on holy land – the police beat and murder those who refuse to leave the only home they've ever known, eventually burning the village to the ground.
It's a scene that echoes present-day incidents in India.
Since 2014, India has been ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The right-wing party has deepened religious divides both in the country and in the diaspora, with both political and physical attacks against Muslims on the rise. The BJP backed calls for the construction of (and since consecrated) a Hindu temple in Ayodhya, an area at the centre of a dispute between Hindus and Muslims, with both groups claiming religious affiliation to the land.
The validity of other mosques has also since been called into question, and with a quick and violent expulsion from Kid's village, it's hard to not also feel the tremors of the 1947 Partition in these scenes.
Throughout the film, there are also nods to the farmers' protests happening right now in Punjab.
Then there's the hijras, a third-gender community which includes transgender, intersex and eunuch people, as well as people with masculine traits who dress in a typically feminine way. Kid finds himself being nursed back to health by a group of hijras after his plan to kill Rana is scuppered. It's here where Kid regains and improves his strength to become an undefeatable warrior, teaching the hijras how to fight too.
With hijras often ostracised, progress has been made in recent years to recognise them as an official third gender, attempting to fight issues like housing discrimination.
Groups of hijras tend to cohabit, just like in Monkey Man, both out of necessity and for safety, making a living through things like begging, ritual performances, sex work or as servants and cooks. In a wry twist, it's the hijras who come to Kid's aid when he returns for round two with Rana, using their outsider status to get their own back on the people who mistreat them.
It's a core theme of Monkey Man, where the elite take a beating from the oppressed.
The film shows Rana in cahoots with power-hungry guru Baba Shakti (Makarand Deshpande), whose initial spark of spiritual goodness and wisdom has been eclipsed by his ugly prejudices and desire to get to the top. It can't be a coincidence that his name quite literally means 'power.'
In one scene, Baba Shakti stands in support of a seemingly Modi-esque Prime Ministerial candidate. Kid stands in the crowd, hidden in plain sight at the rally, surrounded by red flags and placards. The hue matches Monkey Man's blood-red poster, but is a change from the orange shades seen in a previous trailer.
It's an alteration worth interrogating. Orange is the colour of the BJP, which would match the message Monkey Man seems to portray. It also looks cleaner in the scene, where the crowd wear orange. So why the switch to red, the colour associated with the more liberal Communist Party of India?
While neither Universal Pictures, Patel nor producer Jordan Peele have released an official comment on the swap, it’s arguable that someone, somewhere was afraid of a backlash against any perceived criticism of the BJP. Perhaps distribution or business deals were at stake, or it was simply to be consistent with the poster. It's a niggling moment that doesn't sit consistently in a film that includes actual footage of demonstrations against Modi's government.
Monkey Man is threaded with the idea of roots, both physical and metaphorical.
Kid's overarching aim is to eliminate the root of his pain, also the root of evil in India, travelling deeper and deeper into the rot at its core. With the hijras, there are literal roots in the sparse space where they live, also where Kid journeys to the heart of his pain.
The film is a full-throttle reflection of a country failing to protect many of its citizens, whether through poverty, the caste system or outright prejudice, that manages to entertain without feeling too preachy, and will leave you thinking long after the credits roll.
Monkey Man is now out in cinemas.
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Isabella is a freelance journalist who has written on young women's issues, entertainment, TV and film, South Asian representation, mental health, dating and so much more. She has bylines in ELLE, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Prima, Digital Spy, Women's Health, and Harper's Bazaar, and was named 30 Under 30 by MediaWeek, PPA and We Are The City. She was also shortlisted for Workplace Hero at the Investing In Ethnicity Awards and Hero of the Year at the European Diversity Awards. Follow Isabella on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
