Dev Patel apologised for cutting his crucial scene in Monkey Man for ‘political’ reasons, reveals Makarand Deshpande

Dev Patel, who is making his directorial debut with Monkey Man, has been receiving positive reactions for the film ever since its premiere at SXSW. The film also stars Makarand Deshpande in a pivotal role. In a new interview with Siddharth Kannan on his YouTube channel, Makarand revealed how Dev apologised to him at the LA premiere of the film for editing portions of a scene featuring him. (Also read: Dev Patel reveals this Shah Rukh Khan film had a deep influence on him: ‘I watched it when I was really young’)

What Makarand said about Monkey Man

In the interview, Makarand said, “For the premiere of Monkey Man, I went to California. Before that, Dev said he wants to have a word with me. He said, ‘That’s the scene I love the most, but we had to edit it for some reason… for some political (reason)… you understand,’ and he just mumbled. I kept on looking at him and said, ‘Dev, wasn’t that scene the philosophy of your film?’ He was like, ‘Oh yes, man, but you will still like your role, I am sorry, but you will like it.’”

‘Woh ahar rehta toh kya maza aata’

He continued, “When I saw the film, I said no problem. But I know that scene — woh ahar rehta toh kya maza aata (if that scene was kept it would have been amazing). It had that punch, an edited scene won’t matter to the audience, but it matters to the actor. In my understanding, it was the rooh (soul) of the film, it may not be for Dev. It is getting a lot of critical acclaim, might be in the Oscar race later and is like their Satya.”

Monkey Man revolves around an underdog street fighter who ends up becoming a vigilante superhero. Dev's character fights against the mighty and rich, who oppress the downtrodden and are also responsible for his mother's death. It stars Sobhita Dhulipala, Sikandar Kher, Sharlto Copley, Pitobash, Vipin Sharma, Ashwini Kalsekar, and Adithi Kalkunte. No release date for the film in India has been announced yet.