Sobhita Dhulipala Says Dev Patel 'Rewrote' Monkey Man's Character For Her

Sobhita Dhulipala is currently riding high on the success of the second season of her web series, Made in Heaven. However, she’s not stopping there, as the talented actress is now preparing for the release of her Hollywood debut, Monkey Man, which also marks the directorial debut of Slumdog Millionaire fame Dev Patel. The movie is in the final stages of post production and Sobhita recently shared insights about her audition for the role. While she remained tight-lipped about her character in the upcoming film, in an interview with Film Companion she recalled auditioning for this role even before her debut film, Raman Raghav came out.

In a conversation with Anupama Chopra, she told, “He’s a really good actor but I think he’s an even better director. He worked on this script for close to 8 years, before Raman Raghav came out. We had just finished shooting and I was called in for an audition, we didn’t know what it was, I did round one and I was called for round two and in round two, I walk in and this man (Dev) is standing there and I was just like, ‘Hi, nice to meet you’ I was just like, what? Because this is right little after Slumdog Millionaire and I was just like, ‘He’s an actor, right? Actors can direct also?’.”

“I was just very overwhelmed and he really liked my audition and he gave me some directions and then I didn’t hear back and I was like, ‘Of course, I didn’t get it.’ Some 4-5 years later, I get a call from another casting agent and I come to meet and again, this one (Dev Patel) ‘Prakat ho gaya aise’ (He just appeared) and he said, it moved him to rewrite the character in certain ways and he’s like, ‘Since then, Its only been you. Whatever it would be made’,” she recalled.

Monkey Man is an action thriller film set in India, revolving around the story of an ex-felon who has been released from prison. The film features a talented cast, with Dev Patel not only starring but also directing the project, Sharlto Copley, Sobhita Dhulipala and Sikandar Kher, play key roles in the film.

Originally slated for release in 2022, the film’s release date has been postponed and as of now, Netflix has not finalized a new release date.

Meanwhile, Sobhita Dhulipala had a successful year with three hits, including Made In Heaven season 2, Ponniyin Selvan 2 and The Night Manager.