Fresh off the success of the Oscar-nominated Lion, Dev Patel will star in a new film that explores the dark underbelly of an iconic institution: Chippendales.
The male stripper company may best be associated with raunchy-meets-goofy bachelorette parties, but what most people don't know is that there's a whole crazy story behind the empire's conception. Now, with Deadline reporting that Patel has been cast as Chippendales' founder Somen “Steve” Banerjee, we'll finally get to explore one seriously wild tale...one that ends with murder.
The new film — which has been in development for years — will follow Banerjee as he rises from a gas station attendant in Playa del Rey to creating the Chippendales night club. However, don't expect a Magic Mike scenario: The real story of Banerjee's life is peppered with violence. Co-creator Paul Snider murdered his wife, Playboy bunny Dorothy Stratten, before taking his own life. Later, Banerjee would admit to orchestrating the murder of Nick DeNoia, the Chippendales' choreographer and recruiter whom Ben Stiller is slated to play in the upcoming feature.
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Banerjee also admitted to burning rival clubs down and hiring a hitman to kill yet another choreographer, which sound more like plot points from Breaking Bad than a real life scenario.
Those real-life situations should, of course, make anyone wonder: How the hell hasn't this been a movie already? Whatever the reason for the wait, the fact that it's happening now means that that Patel is available to sign on. And who doesn't want more of him on the big screen? I know I do, and not only because we've only seen him in a handful of films since his breakout role in 2008's Slumdog Millionaire. (Next, he'll star in Hotel Mumbai, a film about the survivors of the attacks on Mumbai in 2008.)
It's good to see Patel taking on another major movie — one where his character definitely has a lot to do, and will be getting his hands very, very dirty.