Radish Music Supervises Dev Patel’s Directing Debut, ‘Monkey Man’

Radish Music is pleased to announce that founder and ECD, Peymon Maskan, and associate music supervisor, Jenna Wilson, have provided music supervision and coordination respectively  for Dev Patel’s hotly anticipated directorial debut, ‘Monkey Man’, which released in cinemas April 5th. Dev directs, produces, and stars in the film, while Jordan Peele also produces via Monkeypaw Productions.

Set in India, the action thriller is inspired by the legend of Hanuman, a Hindu deity of strength and courage, as a son seeks revenge against the corrupt leaders responsible for the murder of his mother and the victimisation of the powerless.

‘Monkey Man’ had its world premiere at the recent South by Southwest festival, where it was met with a roaring two-minute standing ovation. Reflecting on Dev Patel’s work on the film, Jordan Peele stated that he had “never seen someone pour his heart, soul, body, mind and energy into a story more than this man.”

Though specific to region and culture, the musical scope for ‘Monkey Man’ is as broad and diverse as the Indian population’s listening habits. Over a year and a half’s close collaboration with Dev and producer Jomon Thomas, the team was encouraged to keep things loose, letting each scene dictate the sound it wanted without being dogmatic and making room for surprising ideas to emerge. So guided by the picture and story, music supervisor Peymon has curated an eclectic soundtrack featuring disco, ‘80s, Bollywood, grime, and rap - a style all of its own.

Peymon’s search for music was also inspired by Dev’s own personal memories and influences. For someone not native to the culture, the challenge was to ensure that the music sourced would do justice to this, feeling authentic to the director as well as the film’s audience. Validation came from unlikely places: one particular Bollywood song that’s made it onto the tracklist has a YouTube comment section filled with people talking about how it seemed naughty growing up, to be listened to far from the ears of their parents - perfect for the salacious scene it plays over.

Peymon Maskan, founder and ECD at Radish Music, comments, “So much of the vision that Dev originally described to us is here on the screen in the finished product, and it’s really exciting to see it all come together. He’s a very music savvy person, which we bonded over from our first meeting. A director like that knows how to use music to drive the story whenever possible, and this film is no exception: at times, it brings incredible scope and works to increase the stakes; at other times it reveals more intimate sides of the character; and at times it’s comedic and expresses Dev’s sense of humour. ”