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WHILE the world is familiar with serial killer Charles Sobhraj, who targeted Western travellers visiting South Asia, the story of Mumbai-based cop Madhukar Zende — who captured the sharp-witted criminal twice, in 1971 and later in 1986 after his astounding escape from Tihar Jail — is relatively unknown. In 1986, armed with a 15-year-old photograph of the criminal, Zende led a small group of policemen to carry out a manhunt that sounds like an impossible task in today’s digital era.
Drawing the audience into the world of ’80s, Inspector Zende, in its opening monologue mentions that the film is inspired by “true events” that have a “fairy-tale”-like feel. Written and directed by Chinmay Mandlekar, it tells the story, from Zende’s point of view, of how Carl Bhojraj (Sobhraj) was captured at a Goan restaurant. Manoj Bajpayee is essaying the titular protagonist while Jim Sarbh plays the charming yet elusive Carl. The film streams on Netflix from September 5.
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“When I started researching about Zende’s Goa mission, it somehow struck me that there is a lot of irony involved. A group of six Mumbai cops went to Goa in search of a dreaded criminal with one 15-year-old photograph as reference. This story could not have been told in a stoic and dark way,” says Mandlekar, admitting that his sense of humour might have determined the film’s tone. Bajpayee adds: “I was drawn to the humour in the script.”
By now, Bajpayee has played a whole range of cops, including an angry and honest one in Shool (1999), and one with a meltdown in the short film Taandav (2016). “In a career spanning 30 years, you are bound to play a certain profession a number of times. But all the characters in uniform are not the same. Zende is a character I have never played earlier. He is someone well-meaning, a family person and quite driven at work,” says the Gangs of Wasseypur and Satya actor, revealing that he will be seen as a cop in three more upcoming movies.
To create the look and feel of his Bhojraj character, Sarbh had help from the hair and makeup team. “They made two wigs. One for the period when he escaped from Tihar and one for when he was younger.” Sarbh also watched several interviews of Sobhraj and keenly observed him. Describing him as a “sociopathic narcissist”, the actor says, “He considers himself to be a ‘gentleman’. He refers to people he might have killed as his ‘clients’. His interviews in later years show that he had lost his hair and was hiding behind a wig. He was obsessed with disguises. He had a hair and makeup person with him at all times.”
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While playing Bhojraj demanded that Sarbh be “deadly serious”, a lot of humour was created around other characters dealing with Zende. “When I finally interacted with Zende, I saw the two worlds collide. I wondered what was happening.” Recalling their first meet during the shoot, Bajpayee says, “When we met Jim for the first time during the shoot, he was quite serious and I knew he was into his character. Unlike him, my character is surrounded by madcaps. It almost raises doubts if this bunch will be able to catch the master manipulator.”
Starting from Neerja (2016), in which he played a terrorist, to Rocket Boys (2022-23), where he brought to life the character of Homi J Bhabha, Sarbh has played several characters inspired by real life. “It is not a conscious decision,” he says. Bajpayee’s mantra in such a scenario is not to imitate the person he is portraying. “It’s the idea and the essence of the character you try to capture. However, if you are playing the role of someone like Gandhi, it is tricky. In that case, you try to get the external bit correct. After that, you go with your own interpretation of Gandhi,” he says.
