What Is the Story About?
Inspector Zende takes us back to 1986, right after the infamous Tihar jailbreak. International conman and serial killer Charles Sobhraj is reimagined here as Carl Bhojraj (Jim Sarbh), who escapes prison by drugging the guards and slipping away with his men. Enter Inspector Madhukar Zende (Manoj Bajpayee), the cop who had once caught him years earlier, now tasked with pulling off the impossible once again, bringing him back in.
The chase runs from Bombay to Goa, mixing undercover stings, botched near-captures, and even a few comic detours as Zende and his ragtag team close in on their slippery target. Along the way, the film tries to balance duty with slices of Zende’s home life, his wife, his colleagues, and the ordinary rhythms that continue even as he hunts an extraordinary criminal.
And the rest, I won’t spoil it for you.
Performances?
Manoj Bajpayee shoulders the film as Inspector Zende, and while his presence lends immediate weight, he plays it almost too straight. There are flashes where his dry seriousness paired with absurd situations works, but mostly it feels like he’s on autopilot. Bajpayee can carry intensity with ease, but here the role doesn’t demand much, and he doesn’t stretch beyond the basics.
Jim Sarbh, saddled with Carl Bhojraj, is even more undercut by the writing. The wig, the patchy French accent, the odd flamboyance, none of it adds up to menace or charm. Sarbh is a terrific actor, but here he looks trapped in a caricature, with no room to bring depth to the character.
Surprisingly, it’s the supporting cast that leaves stronger impressions. Girija Oak brings warmth as Zende’s wife, while Bhalchandra Kadam and Harish Dudhade, among others, inject sincerity and humour into the police team. Their camaraderie feels more alive than the central cat-and-mouse game.
Analysis
The biggest problem with Inspector Zende is identity. The film doesn’t know whether it wants to be a parody of true-crime folklore, a serious police procedural, or a nostalgic throwback to 1980s cinema. By trying to juggle all three, it ends up doing justice to none.
Let’s start with tone. Chinmay Mandlekar announces upfront that this is a “fairy tale inspired by true events,” which suggests a playful, exaggerated take. But the humour is too timid, and the thriller beats are too diluted. What we get is a film that wavers, slapstick in one scene, melodrama in the next, and half-hearted police chase in between. Even Manoj Bajpayee, usually magnetic, looks like he’s waiting for sharper writing to arrive.
The handling of the period is equally inconsistent. Calling Bombay “Mumbai” in 1986 may seem minor, but when such slips pile up, they chip away at credibility. Goa’s counterculture is shown as little more than colourful hippies and beachside raves, a postcard vision with none of the grit or eccentricity that made the real place such fertile ground for Sobhraj’s exploits. Rather than immersing us in the ’80s, the film feels as if it’s dressing up for a costume party.
Structurally, the film lurches forward without rhythm. There are flashes of something sharper, Zende trying to balance duty with his role as a family man, or the momentary futility of chasing a criminal who always seems a step ahead. But these threads are abandoned almost as soon as they are introduced. By the final act, when the climax unfolds like a comedy skit, the sense of deflation is complete.
The writing also flattens the leads. Zende is written with broad strokes of righteousness and seriousness, leaving Bajpayee little to work with. Bhojraj (a renamed Charles Sobhraj) is even worse, Jim Sarbh is left stranded in a wig and patchy French accent, with no menace or charm to make him memorable. Ironically, it’s the supporting cops who feel most alive. Their camaraderie, small jokes, and sincerity offer more engagement than the central cat-and-mouse game.
Thematically, the film misses an opportunity. This could have been a smart inversion, a story about how ordinary cops, with their flaws and limitations, still manage to bring down a supposedly genius criminal. Instead, Inspector Zende reduces both sides: the cop becomes flat, the criminal becomes a caricature, and the chase becomes hollow.
Ultimately, the film collapses under its inconsistency. The intent, to tell a lighter, observational story around a famous arrest, isn’t wrong. But with muddled tone, historical inaccuracies, underwritten leads, and a limp finale, what should have been a sharp satire ends up flimsy and forgettable.
Music and Other Departments?
The background score in Inspector Zende is one of its weakest links. Instead of creating tension or enhancing mood, the music often underlines scenes too heavily, almost telling the audience what to feel rather than letting the moment breathe. In chase sequences, the score feels oddly generic, robbing them of urgency. In lighter moments, it borders on cartoonish, which undercuts whatever credibility the narrative tries to hold on to.
The sound design, too, doesn’t leave a strong impression. Gunshots, crowd noises, or ambient sounds of Goa’s beaches and Mumbai’s streets are strangely muted, they never transport the viewer into the texture of the 1980s world.
Cinematography is serviceable but rarely imaginative. Goa’s sunlit landscapes and Bombay’s bustling chaos should have been characters in themselves; instead, they appear flat, framed more like tourist postcards than evocative settings. Editing only adds to the inconsistency, with abrupt transitions and slack pacing making the 100+ minutes feel much longer.
Even the casting choices outside the leads feel uneven. While some supporting actors bring warmth and authenticity, others seem misfit, as though selected for their look rather than acting depth. This inconsistency dilutes the ensemble effect.
Direction, unfortunately, ties these flaws together. Mandlekar’s vision wavers, instead of blending parody and crime thriller, the execution makes both seem shallow.
Highlights?
Good direction of chase sequence.
Certain dialogues have been witty.
Retro Mumbai settings add occasional flavor.
Bajpayee and Sarbh do a good enough job.
Drawbacks?
The story is confused between parody and crime.
Supporting cast underdeveloped, many reduced to stereotypes.
Direction looks extremely flawed, the show loses pace.
Did I Enjoy It?
At parts, but overall extremely mediocre.
Will You Recommend It?
This week, when nothing exciting is there, it can be somewhat enjoyable. Plus, Bajpayee’s performance is always enjoyable.
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