Writer and director Chinmay D Mandlekar’s Netflix movie Inspector Zende is loosely based on the story of Inspector Madhukar Bapurao Zende capturing the dreaded criminal Carl Sobraj in 1986.

The story starts off when the mastermind criminal Carl Bhojraj (Jim Sarbh) is serving sentence in Delhi’s Tihar Jail. One fine day, he succeeds in escaping from the prison along with his gang members. They later enter Mumbai. Hence, the case comes under Mumbai Police’s jurisdiction.

The Director General of Mumbai Police Purandhare (Sachin Khedekar) hands over the task of nabbing Bhojraj to Inspector Madhukar Bapurao Zende (Manoj Bajpayee). Apart from he being a reputed cop, the reason for asking Zende to lead the case is that he had heroically caught Bhojraj in 1971. Zende gets along the task with his team comprising of fellow cops Patil (Bhalchandra Kadam) and others.

The makers make it clear in the initial disclaimer that the film is only loosely based on the real story of Inspector Zende and that they have added a lot of fiction. But even then, the creative liberties turn out to be a bit too much as soon as the film starts. You wonder why the real story of a heroic cop is told in a comedy manner and that too slapstick humour in some places.

But the actual issue is that apart from a giggle here and there, the jokes fall flat. The proceedings are fast-paced and they keep you engaged. But you constantly wonder about the need for such kind of humour while narrating this story. Even Paresh Mokashi’s Harishchandrachi Factory narrated Dadasaheb Phalke’s real story in a comical way but the humour in that movie was actually funny.

Thankfully for Inspector Zende, the narrative becomes more engaging in the last 30-40 minutes when the story shifts to Goa. The mission carried out by Zende and his team is different from what we regularly see in crime dramas taking place inside the country. The story reaches at one point when you highly root for Zende and his team. This also leads to a few nail-biting moments in the ending portions.

Apart from the latter part of the second half, Manoj Bajpayee’s act keeps the film going, even when the narrative isn’t pleasing enough. He gets plenty of opportunities to display his talent. He makes sure to not reduce the real character of Zende to a comical one even during humorous moments. Jim Sarbh is perfectly cast as the half-foreigner suave criminal who mostly speaks in English. He also subtly switches over to a ruthless mode.

Sachin Khedekar and Girija Oak offer good support. Bhalchandra Kadam does what he is known for. He appears sidelined in the first half but gets more opportunity later on. Vaibhav Mangle is funny as a Goa cop. Harish Dudhade, Onkar Raut, Nitin Bhajan and Bharat Savale provide able support as Zende’s team members.

Technical areas like Rajesh Choudhary’s production design and Ketan Sodha’s background score succeed in recreating the bygone era.

Overall: Inspector Zende is saved by the last 30-40 minutes and Manoj Bajpayee’s act.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Director: Chinmay D Mandlekar

Writer: Chinmay D Mandlekar

Producer: Northern Lights Films

Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Jim Sarbh, Sachin Khedekar, Girija Oak, Bhalchandra Kadam

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