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Snake and Mongoose Show
Inspector Zende | Director: Chinmay Mandlekar | Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Jim Sarbh, Sachin Khedekar | Hindi | Netflix
Kaveree Bamzai
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05 Sep, 2025
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The real mystery in this thrill is to identify its genre. Is it a chase movie, a com- edy, or a police procedural? Perhaps it is all three. Inspector Madhukar Zende had arrested Carl Bhojraj in 1971 when he was a mere thief, and has the oppor- tunity to arrest him again after 32 murders, many prison breaks, and several scandals around him. The story takes us from Mumbai to Goa, tapping into territorial rivalry, and a comical police chief.
Jim Sarbh is curiously restrained as Bhojraj who is clearly based on Charles Sobhraj, while Manoj Bajpayee as Zende gets the big scenes. But the sudden dark scenes of murder jar in what feels like a light comedy. Bodraj looks less like the snake that he is advertised to be and more like a bunny rabbit while Zende is not a self proclaimed mongoose as much as he is a teddy bear especially in the scenes with his long suffering wife played by the wondrous Girija Oak. Perhaps there is some merit in considering a sequel on Mr and Mrs Zende, Crimefighters Inc?
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