Everyone knows the noir genre, right? A tough detective or police officer pursues a dangerous criminal. Usually, a femme fatale gets involved in this cat-and-mouse game. The unexpected twists hit you like a punch to the stomach. The visuals reflect the intensity of the narrative with dark shadows and silhouettes, while the music makes you nervous and tense at the same time. The lesser-known genre is the more relaxed noir. The clichés are practically the same, but everything seems to be coated in cough syrup.
There's an air of laziness, almost bordering on boredom. Films in this category have more jokes than their more serious counterparts, but some offer plot twists that can compete with horror films. I'm referring to titles like "The Good Boys," "Junior Detective," "Inherent Vice," "The Big Lebowski," "The Long Goodbye," "The Desert of the Silver Lake," and perhaps "I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore." Inspector Zende is a good entry in this subgenre and well worth checking out.
Director: Chinmay Mandlekar
Stars: Manoj Bajpayee, Jim Sarbh, Sachin Khedekar
Set in the 1980s, Inspector Zende by Chinmay Mandlekar tells the story of Inspector Madhukar Bapurao Zende. He lives in a chawl room in Bombay with his mother, his wife, Vijaya, and their two children. His most trusted assistant on the job is Patil. In both his personal and professional life, things are fairly peaceful. But everything changes when Carl Bhojraj escapes from Tihar Jail along with four henchmen: David Jones, Lalit Khatana, Ratan Tomar, and Subhash Tyagi.
Since Madhukar had already captured Carl once, Director of Police Chandrakant Purandhare tasks him with doing it a second time. However, during this time, Carl has improved his evasive methods and is therefore quite difficult to catch. Therefore, several expert officers are assigned to the case: Patil, Jacob, Patekar, Deshmane, and Naik. Madhukar and his team's investigation begins in Mumbai and takes them all the way to Goa. And as they tour the coastal state with great enthusiasm, under mounting pressure from Union ministers and other law enforcement agencies, Madhukar wonders whether he should follow his instincts or simply give up.
Mandlekar's opening narration to Inspector Zende is a bit of an exaggeration, calling it a "story that is real but seems like a fantasy." I hate to break it to all involved, but there's nothing fantastical about this story. In fact, it's quite the opposite, as it takes the pursuit of a fugitive criminal very seriously. And there's nothing wrong with that. Many of us forget that police work isn't exciting or engaging. It's mostly hours of waiting, interrogating citizens, negotiating with local authorities, collecting resources on a limited budget, and then waiting some more for the right moment. But I'm a little confused that Mandlekar tried to make it feel fake.
As for the narrative itself, Mandlekar doesn't offer anything really new. It's your typical crime thriller with a bunch of jokes. That said, I guess the intention behind this story is noble. There have been countless biopics and incarnations of Charles Sobhraj, but none of Madhukar Bapurao Zende, and Mandlekar wants that to change. No, this isn't a call for more "copaganda," but stories about people who stayed away from the spotlight and continued doing good work. Mandlekar's direction in Inspector Zende, along with Vishal Sinha's photography, Meghna Manchanda Sen's editing, Rajesh Choudhary's production design, and Priyanka Castelino's costumes, is magnificent. The period-true aesthetic is perfect.
The music and sound design are top-notch. And, scene by scene, all of this comes together to create genuinely funny moments that I won't spoil. But, after the halfway point, the already sluggish pacing slows down, dragging everything down with it and never fully recovering. Everything gets stuck in a loop where Zende and his team move forward, Carl evades them, and everything starts all over again. Perhaps the cyclical structure is meant to put the audience in the shoes of Madhukar and his team, and that point is quite well captured in the first half. Repeating it, but in a different—admittedly picturesque—setting, simply didn't make sense. Besides, since the whole thing ends with a small whimper, continuing this repetitive narrative is pointless. Incidentally, the whole thing about Jim Sarbh's hair—which is probably a wig—is outrageous; he seems less like a womanizer and more like Pepe Le Pew. If that was the goal, then well done, Sarbh.
As for the performances in Inspector Zende, Manoj Bajpayee has to do most of the heavy lifting, and he does it quite well. He doesn't reinvent the wheel or anything. However, what he does is enough to give us an insight into the mind of the real-life counterpart of the character he's playing. That said, I think Bajpayee has hit a wall. With the exception of characters like Joram, it doesn't seem like he's pushing himself too hard as an actor. He knows that even if he goes a while without playing a role, he'll do better than his peers and those much younger than him. I mean, he's given us characters like Sonchiriya, Bhonsle, Gali Guleiyan, and Aligarh.
Now, every law enforcement officer he plays feels like a shadow of the ones he played before. I hope he breaks this cycle soon. The same can be said for Sarbh. I understand he's playing an unconventional character for Sanjay Leela Bhansali, but come on, man. He knows he's more than capable of portraying nuanced characters. But, in this case, it does nothing to improve the material it's been given. In stark contrast to the leads, supporting actors like Girija Oak, Bhalchandra Kadam, Sachin Khedekar, Vaibhav Mangale, Harish Dudhade (his no-smile policy is brilliant), Onkar Raut, Bharat Savale, and Nitin Bhajan are far more interesting to watch.
Despite all my criticisms, I think you should give Inspector Zende a chance. Like many "copagandas," it glorifies police brutality, the female characters have little autonomy, and it focuses so much on the nobility of law enforcement officers that it sometimes forgets to treat them as three-dimensional characters. Otherwise, yes, the film offers a morbidly fun and relaxing viewing experience. The visual effects are colorful, and the music, as the young people like to say, is a hit.
The performances are good enough to keep you hooked. And, most importantly, I think it gets the essence just right. A simple internet search will tell you that Charles Sobhraj has inspired multiple books, films, miniseries, and television shows. But this may be the first time you've heard of Madhukar Bapurao Zende. Does that seem fair to you? Why does the man who has killed so many people have so many adaptations of his life, while those who have worked to catch him remain on the sidelines? I don't know if this film will change the world of true crime and its obsession with serial killers, but I hope it does.
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