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V.K. SANTOSH KUMAR
For Singaporean actor Mathi Alagan, it was an “incredible opportunity” to feature in Dev Patel’s directorial debut Monkey Man, which released globally on April 4.
The 59-year-old, who has starred in several TV series like Mediacorp’s Tanglin (2015 to 2018) and Tamil films like Penguin (2020), plays an arms dealer in the Hollywood venture, which follows the story of Kid, played by Patel, 33, who is out to avenge a past wrong.
“It was a natural progression for me, after acting in Tamil stage and TV shows in Singapore, English programmes and then doing Tamil series and movies in India,” Mathi told tabla!. “As an actor with nearly 35 years of experience, you always want to go to the next level.”
Mathi revealed that, after his performance as an antagonist in Penguin, his stock went up and “somebody sent my name to the casting people for Monkey Man”.
He auditioned for three roles and was picked to play the arms dealer, the beefiest.
“I did all the shooting in Batam, where the sets were made to resemble Mumbai,” said Mathi. “The shooting could not be done in Mumbai earlier due to Covid.
“For me, it was an exploration of new ground. Dev Patel is a big name, and it was exciting to work with him. It was a good opportunity for me as nowadays they are writing meaningful Asian-centric roles.”
Mathi was initially apprehensive whether Patel could pull off the movie as the young man played three roles – producer, director and actor.
“But he was brilliant,” said Mathi. “He did not have the air of a multimillionaire bankable star. He was switched on. He had so much energy.
“He hardly slept for two hours a day and would be up at 5am planning for the shoot. He was dedicated and was alway approachable for discussions.
“We spent a lot of time together and even went swimming. He kept me relaxed throughout the shoot.”
Following his Monkey Man role, Mathi beleives “he has done everything in acting”.
He wrote and directed a 24-part Malaysian TV series last year which was a hit.
“That’s where my future is,” he said. “Writing and directing - it’s new energy, gets my blood boiling.”
“As an actor with nearly 35 years of experience, you always want to go to the next level.”
