Inspector Zende, a Breezy, Playful Retelling of the Pursuit of the Criminal Charles Sobhraj

A markedly distinct genre of Mumbai films have emerged in the Hindi mainstream (Kaun Pravin Tambe?, Lootcase, Madgaon Express) in the last decade. The director is Mumbai-bred for the most part, the dialogues flits from Hindi, Marathi and the in-between language laced with Mumbai slang. The underdog protagonist usually lives in a cramped central Mumbai chawl, and the films tend to have the wry humour and the wisdom of the city’s many pot-holed streets. Chinmay Mandlekar’s Inspector Zende fits into this slew of breezy, playful and intentionally cartoonish films — which are modest in their ambitions, enjoyable in the moment and rarely able to sustain the joys of their first hour.

Madhukar Zende (Manoj Bajpayee) is a cog in the Mumbai police machinery, battling the underworld. Like any good fielder in the 30-yard circle, Zende can anticipate his moment to shine. Whether it’s out of a sense of duty or his ‘supercop’ ego is up for debate. A thing I liked about Mandlekar’s film is how it accounts for someone’s ability to exaggerate while regaling anecdotes. It’s amused by the self-mythologising, while also being affectionate towards its subject. It results in a film that is consistently amusing, even if it doesn’t break any new ground.

The year is 1986, and news has just come that serial killer Carl Bhojraj (a fictitious version of Charles Sobhraj, played by Jim Sarbh – doing the most deliberately insincere French accent) has escaped from Tihar jail. Inspector Zende, who had earlier caught the Indo-Vietnamese killer in Mumbai 15 years ago, knows that he might be up for the job one more time. So much so that he rushes to the police station, and waits for the telephone to ring.

Bajpayee is a great choice to play the titular role – a superb actor in his own right, having worked in all sorts of films across three decades, he understands the obsessive drive that fuels such a long journey outside of tangible gains like promotions, increments, a glowing reputation among superiors and peers. It’s the joy of doing something they love. As Zende, Bajpayee’s face lights up when he learns about Bhojraj’s escape – he’s lived his entire life to lead up to this moment. He was born ready. The mongoose will always get the snake, Zende announces to his superior Purandarekar (Sachin Khedekar).

The bar is low for comedies these days, which very easily veer into the infantile, misogynist space like in the Housefull films, or adopt the lowest hanging fruits of the comedy tree, without the slightest hint about what they might be espousing. It might be why I enjoy the earnestness of these Mumbai films. Mandlekar’s film does the little things well, like the knob on the main-door of the Zende residence, which is dutifully used to tell anyone if the inspector is at home or not. There’s a gag around a subordinate called Jacob (Harish Dudhade) telling others he’s smiling, even though everyone only sees his sullen face.

The one gag that I laughed out loud at was after a briefing, when Zende and his colleagues are informed they will be catching the first flight to Goa the next morning, to nab Bhojraj. With none of them ever having boarded a flight before, the entire team stands up in disbelief in front of their superior, unable to contain the excitement of boarding an airplane. I also enjoyed Bajpayee’s scenes with Girija Oak – playing Zende’s wife, Vijaya – whom he affectionately calls ‘Commissioner’. There’s a domesticity to the setting that makes Zende’s exploits as a cop feel that much more urgent, in the face of adversity, against one of the most feared criminals of his time.

In many ways, Inspector Zende is the anti-Rohit Shetty film that glamourises cops, making them seem superhumans. Even though it skirts the lines of a hagiography for the Mumbai police in a scene or two, Mandlekar keeps things goofy enough for its audience to take everything with a pinch of salt. There are no flying cars in this, or exploitative, tear-jerking scenes giving our protagonist a sense of purpose here. He’s locked in to his target like a missile, and nothing will deter him.

The film tries to sustain the fun of the first hour, but it runs out of steam by the end. However, it offers the rare sight of Bajpayee – the champion of gritty art-house films – cutting loose and being silly. For this one reason alone, we should all be glad that Inspector Zende exists.

Inspector Zende is streaming on Netflix.

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