Why has Monkey Man’s India Release been Postponed?

It is reported that Dev Patel’s Monkey Man has been postponed in India.

The film, which marks Dev’s directorial debut, had its worldwide release on April 5, 2024, and has received rave reviews.

It was scheduled to be released in India on April 19.

However, Monkey Man is yet to receive a green light from India’s Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) due to its intense violence, sexual scenes and references to religion and mythology.

We delve into the film and why its India release has been delayed.

What is Monkey Man about?

Monkey Man follows Kid, who lives in a village with his mother. Growing up, she used to tell him stories about Hanuman.

But one day, a greedy spiritual guru orders a corrupt police chief to burn down the village to acquire the land.

This leads to the death of the villagers and Kid’s mother.

A distraught Kid sets on a journey to exact vengeance against the pair.

As a young man, Kid earns a living by taking part in illegal fights all while seeking out the individuals responsible for his mother’s death.

In addition to Dev Patel, Monkey Man also stars Sharlto Copley, Sobhita Dhulipala and Pitobash.

According to a report by The New Statesman:

“Monkey Man‘s critique of an extremely popular dictator who has managed to weaponise Hinduism is not exactly subtle.”

The film has references to the transgender community and also includes a scene wherein news footage in the background draws attention to violence towards India’s trans and Muslim communities.

Why has it been Delayed in India?

It was previously suggested that the delay was down to a box office clash with Akshay Kumar’s Bade Miyan Chote Miyan and Ajay Devgn’s sports biopic Maidaan.

A source told Bollywood Hungama that while the filmmakers are planning for an April 19 release, clearance from the CBFC is still awaited.

“The film has excessive violence, and there are fears that some of its aspects might hurt the sentiments of the section of the audience.

“Hence, the censor process is expected to take time.

“Also, the Universal Studios team in the USA needs to permit the changes asked by the CBFC.

“Once they approve, the local team will carry out the changes, and only then, the team will announce the release date.”

The source also claimed that if the censorship process is completed on time, Monkey Man‘s April 19 release will go ahead.

If not, it is expected to hit the big screen on April 26.

Another source told Zoom:

“Even if the film finds its way out of the daunting orgy of violence, sexual references (multiple scenes of sexual violence inside brothels) and drugs-related trauma, there is the other major problem: the frequent references to Hindu religion and mythology, which is fitted into the framework in a bizarre mix of violence and religion.”

Given the obstacles, the possibility of the Monkey Man‘s release in India seems unclear at the moment.

To get clearance from the CBFC, major chunks of the film’s visuals and dialogues may have to be edited or deleted.

One viral post on X pointed out that a trailer for Monkey Man had been edited to change the saffron political banners to red.

The tweet read: “Shows that they’ve changed the colours of the evil political party from saffron (Hindu nationalist BJP) to red (Communist Party).”

I liked MONKEY MAN much, much less than most people. But I will say the film is unambiguously anti-BJP https://t.co/jJ4qfrta47

— Stephen Silver (@StephenSilver) April 5, 2024

Texas-based engineer Venki Manickam said some saffron banners had been changed to red but the flags remained saffron, “resembling the BJP insignia”.

He also said the film is not “Hinduphobic”.

It remains unclear what other alterations have been made to facilitate Monkey Man‘s release in India.

Universal Pictures India initially published two trailers for the film in English and Hindi with an April 19 release date.

However, recent trailers of the film do not have a release date at all.

While Monkey Man is also available on BookMyShow India, the release date of the film and the window to book tickets, which were earlier available on the platform, are no longer there.

It will be interesting to see how things will develop over the next few weeks.