Indian star Sobhita Dhulipala bags Hollywood project in Dev Patel directorial, ‘Monkey Man’
‘Slumdog Millionaire’ star’s film has been picked up by Netflix for reportedly $30m
Good things comes to those who wait and this adage couldn’t ring more true for Indian film and TV star Sobhita Dhulipala. The ‘Made in Heaven’ star has bagged her first Hollywood project with ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ actor Dev Patel, who will make his debut as a director with the project, titled ‘Monkey Man’.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, Dhulipala revealed she had almost forgotten about the project.
“I had auditioned for it almost five years ago and I got a call back in a few days for a screen test with Dev. I remember, it was on the day I was leaving for the Cannes Film Festival with my first film ‘Raman Raghav 2.0’ [2016],” she told the Indian daily. “All these years later and many turns in the journey of the film and our individual lives later, looks like we belonged with each other all along.”
Speaking about the Hollywood project, she further added: “What appealed to me about the project is that it’s a collaborative spirit, a young and rather eccentric approach to the story and most certainly the people involved. I knew it would be special from the get go. I really enjoyed my character’s tender dilemmas, they were as glamorous as sorrowful.”
Streaming giant Netflix has acquired most of the worldwide rights to Patel’s film for $30 million (Dh110.1 million) according to Deadline, which describing the film as a Mumbai-based ‘John Wick’, drawing reference to the action franchise speared by Keanu Reeves.
The film stars Patel as a man who emerges from prison to take on a world full of corporate greed and spiritual values, all while seeking revenge from those who took everything away from him in the past. The movie will drop on the streaming platform in 2022.
Aside from Patel and Dhulipala, Sharlto Copley and Sikander Kher also star. The movie has already wrapped up filming.
Patel has also penned the film’s script with Paul Angunawela and John Collee, with the title partly inspired by the Hindu mythological deity Hanuman who is half man, half monkey.