Dev Patel’s Monkey Man was released on April 5, 2024, in the U.S. and Canada after its explosive reception at the SXSW Festival when it premiered on March 11. The English language film has an Indian setting and features a predominantly Indian cast. However, censorship issues have caused the film’s release in India to be further delayed from its originally intended release date of April 19.
The film was initially dropped by Netflix to avoid the backlash in the Indian market due to the film’s political undertones. The streaming platform is struggling with its subscriber base in the major market of India, and it couldn’t risk hurting the popular sentiments of the country.
Will Dev Patel’s Monkey Man Be Released in India?
Dev Patel‘s Monkey Man lost its $30 million deal with Netflix due to the film’s political content. The movie, set in India, has included some references to the right-wing politics in the country. According to critic Siddhant Adlakha (for IGN), the film’s villain is designed after some of the ruling politicians in the country who follow the Hindutva ideology. The political ideology justifies Hindu nationalism and allegedly tries to establish Hindu hegemony within India.
When the trailer of the film was released, the villain of the film was shown as a politician with saffron orange flags and posters. The color represented Hindu nationalism in the country. The colors were later changed to red in the movie, removing any alleged connection between the villain and Hindutva ideology. Notably, Patel’s character itself is rooted in Hindu mythology, designed after the Hindu God of Hanuman.
However, the film still faces a major challenge from India’s Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Monkey Man‘s content might not sit well with the Indian censor board, with the political and religious themes definitely causing an issue. The film’s violence and s*xual imagery also may contribute to the censor issues.
The CBFC is a government-controlled organization, which makes it all the more difficult for the film to get certified after allegedly going against the ruling politics in the country. According to the Indian website Bollywood Hungama, the film might not be released on the announced date of April 19 in the country.
Universal Studios, the distributors of the film, also didn’t mention a release date for the film in India while promoting the film via a tweet from their Indian account. A source told IndieWire that the CBFC has yet to watch the movie, following which the film may have to undergo some extensive editing if it were to be released in the country. Hungama’s report is hopeful that the film will hit Indian theaters by the end of this month.
Why Did Netflix Drop Dev Patel’s Monkey Man?
Netflix apparently wanted no part in the political controversy in the film, and they silently dropped out of their $30 million deal (via TheWrap). The streaming platform is looking to gain more ground in one of the most populous countries in the world. Earlier, Netflix bowed to Indian censorship and fully stopped the streaming of uncensored cuts of Indian films around the world (via The Hindu).
According to Parrot Analytics, Netflix’s share of demand in the country went downhill for the last three years, particularly in 2024. It dropped from a high of 41% in January 2023 to 30% in October (via TheWrap). The data may explain why the platform avoided the confrontational political themes in Monkey Man by dropping the film.
However, the film found new life when Jordan Peele was instantly blown away by the film. He saw the potential in the film, and his Monkeypaw Productions took the film to Universal. Both of them soon reached out to Thunder Road Films, the production house behind the film.
Monkey Man is now successfully running in theaters.
