Never Ending Movie Carnival
Never Ending Movie Carnival
‘Inspector Zende’ - Inspired from real incidents, ‘Inspector Zende’s solid and deliberate disposition of humour in a show that is centered on worlds one of the most notorious criminals comes as a welcome surprise, asserts Ahwaan Padhee.
Inspector Zende movie review
Chinmay Mandlekar’s crime caper ‘Inspector Zende’ ticks off from where ‘Black Warrant’, Netflix’s acclaimed web-series of this year, ended. Interpol’s most sought-after criminal – Charles Sobhraj – escapes from Tihar Jail, triggering a widespread frenzy among the entire Police machinery. With the news of his resurfacing in Mumbai, they assign the titular protagonist Zende (Manoj Bajpayee) to nab the cunning fugitive – for the second time!
The pretext may sound intriguing, but the very degeneration of Charles Sobhraj to Carl Bhojraj (played by Jim Sarbh) is not only a cringe nomenclature but also insinuates a quirky, funny and intermittently silly premise to the classic cop vs. criminal template of storytelling.
Zende, appears to be plucked from few pages of ‘Mumbai’s Most Wanted: The thrilling casefiles of a Supercop” which was penned by the OG Madhukar B Zende himself, narrating his adventures with the sexy and suave criminal, Charles who, indeed had a voracious appetite for luxury, girls in bikinis (hence the moniker, Swimsuit killer) and incredible cruelty. But the spotlight here is on Zende and his ragtag team who are dispatched to Goa in March, 1986 to catch the Serpent shrouded with charisma and enigma – which has eluded the craft of the filmmakers, making himself an irresistible pop culture phenomenon.
As far as the stealth and slyness goes, Jim makes a charming case but not a compelling one. The film’s deliberate disposition of humour and the comic chops infused incessantly doesn’t allow you to take him seriously. What salvages the shaky portions is Bajpayee’s solid and surefooted comedy and timing. Sinking into the flesh of a Marathi cop, the actor lends an unmistakable verve to the character, while creating a great synergy with a grounded sense of place and perspective.
Mandlekar surrounds him with a good and talented ensemble – Girija Oak (of Jawan fame) playing his wife, Sachin Khedekar, playing his boss, and Bhalchadra Kadam, Harish Dudhade in key roles.
I go for 3 out of 5 stars for Inspector Zende. Produced by Raut and Shewakramani under the Northern Lights Films banner, the film premieres on Netflix on September 5
Ahwaan Padhee, is an IT Techie/Business Consultant by profession and a film critic/cinephile by passion, is also associated with Radio Playback as well, loves writing and conducting movie quizzes. More By Ahwaan Padhee