Can you make a film about nabbing a narcissistic serial killer as a quirky comedy that may not be ha-ha funny but tickles you every now and then without trivialising the crime? Inspector Zende, starring Manoj Bajpayee in the title role based on the real-life former Mumbai Police cop Madhukar B Zende who caught Charles Sobhraj twice, is proof that it's possible.
Debutant director Chinmay D Mandlekar takes a feather light approach to tell a true crime story which makes Inspector Zende, the plain, honest cop the real hero of the 1980s-set film, especially when the villain is more saleable as the charming, suave, and sociopath Carl Bhojraj.
True to his character, the first dialogue that Manoj Bajpayee as Inspector Zende speaks is in Marathi. Watching the Bihar-born actor masterfully speak Marathi brings two things to mind.
The first character that brought him nationwide name and fame was also a Marathi man - Bhiku Mhatre, the colourful goon from Satya, and how far he has come.
Even though he's very much rooted in Bihar, Manoj Bajpayee is no longer a Bahri after spending over three decades in the film industry.
His Inspector Zende is a family man with a strong sense of duty.
When he hears that Carl Bhojraj has broken out of jail, even at the risk of angering his wife, played by the lovely Girija Oak, whom he fondly calls Commissioner, the dutybound Mumbai cop goes Houdini from the long queue in front of a milk booth with milk bottles sans the milk.
Inspector Zende is overjoyed when he finds out that 'Swimsuit Killer' Carl Bhojraj has successfully escaped from the Tihar Jail after feeding a drug-laced kheer to fellow inmates on account of his birthday - he knows this is his chance to go back on the field and pursue his real passion.
As someone who caught Carl Bhojraj 15 years ago, he knows he has what it takes to nab The Snake once again.
Jim Sarbh as Carl Bhojraj does a fair job too. He is on point as the French serial killer. He is a daring, taunting sociopath who has a taste for the finer things in life.
He can see through people like an X-ray. He tells a woman that she deserves better after he finds out that she's been sleeping around with her boss, the man whom he just looted at gunpoint.
He is almost like Amitabh Bachchan's Don because after 15 years he has become better at what he does. A character even says, "Ab Carl ko pakadna utna aasan nahin hai".
The film pays homage to the Hindi film music of the 1980s era.
Chasing sequences are set to the background score of what could easily pass off as an RD Burman number. There's also cabaret and a Shabbir Khan soundalike (if that's a word) who performs a track at a Christian wedding where Inspector Zende and Carl Bhojraj end up doing a couple dance as The Snake tries to slither away from the grip of law enforcement.
Inspector Zende would have remained incomplete without its superb supporting cast with memorable performances by Bhalchandra Kadam, Harish Dudhade, Onkar Raut, and Sachin Khedekar.
Also Read | Manoj Bajpayee To NDTV: Inspector Zende Is A Family Man
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Manoj Bajpayee, Jim Sarbh, Girija Oak, Sachin Khedekar
