Dev Patel is going places. Last year his starring role as British litterateur David Copperfield in The Personal History Of David Copperfield fetched him terrific reviews and boxoffice.
Now the Slumdog Millionaire actor has turned director with Monkey Man, a crime thriller set in Mumbai in which Patel plays a character simply named the Kid who comes out of prison swearing vengeance against those who wronged him.
There is nothing here that sounds even remotely unconventional.And yet Netflix has apparently purchased Monkey Man from Patel(reportedly at a staggering 35 million dollars) on condition that some of the more violent scenes will have to go.
An actor who has worked with Dev Patel confided in me, “Dev’s directorial debut has turned out really well. The sum that you heard him get from Netflix is right. But it’s a little bit on the violent side and also some portions regarding some mythological references may not go down well with Indian audiences. Netflix has acquired the film on condition that they would modify the content in keeping with the mood of self-censorship being prescribed in India.”
