The crowd stood up and gave him a standing ovation. Patel turned away from the audience and wiped away tears from his eyes with his sleeve.
The actor, who was nominated for an Academy Award for “Lion” in 2016, had put his on-screen career on hold to co-write, direct, produce and star in his latest project. “Monkey Man” is a deeply personal and unexpectedly meditative action tale that means a lot to Patel.
When asked how he felt in that moment, Patel said, “It’s overwhelming.”
Patel asked members of the cast, producers, and his cinematographer Sharone Meir to join him on stage. As they got settled, the audience continued its applause. Patel then asked, “What happens now?”
He went on to say that he broke his hand and foot, tore his shoulder, and got an eye infection from dirty water on the floor of a bathroom where they were shooting a fight scene. Patel had to overcome many hardships during the production, including a broken crane, so they tied the camera to a swinging rope. Some moments were even filmed using Patel’s own phone.
“Monkey Man” is set in a fictional city in India that is similar to Gotham City. Patel plays a young man known only as Kid who wears a monkey mask, reminiscent of the legend of Hanuman, to get beaten down night after night in an underground fight ring. He gets a job washing dishes in an exclusive private club to work his way closer to the city’s powerful elites and exact revenge for the brutal death of his mother.
Initially set up at Netflix, Universal Pictures will release the film next month. Jordan Peele intervened to help save the project. Peele introduced Patel before the screening began and praised the film for proving that movies can be all things.
Patel thanked Peele, saying, “He picked this up from the ground. He brushed the dust off it, put it back on a mantelpiece and gave us this opportunity.”
As a child, Patel saw Bruce Lee in “Enter the Dragon” on television and fell in love with action movies. He also expressed his affection for Indonesian and Korean action cinema, Jim Carrey comedies, Johnny Lever, “John Wick” films, and classic Bollywood films loved by his grandparents.
Before “Monkey Man” began, Patel said, “What you’re going to see here is a guy that doesn’t have a quip for every scenario, isn’t the heftiest dude in the room, and doesn’t look like he’s going to win because he’s an underdog. And that’s what I’ve felt like my whole life.”
In the irreverent spirit of SXSW, Patel said he hoped everyone would like his film. “And if you don’t, blame Jordan – it’s his fault.”
