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Charles Sobhraj, infamously known as the ‘Bikini Killer’, gained notoriety not only for his string of murders but also for his audacious jail escapes. However, he was captured not once, but twice, by Inspector Madhukar Zende. Now, a film based on Zende’s real-life capture of Sobhraj is set to release on Netflix, with actor Manoj Bajpayee portraying the veteran police officer. In a recently released promotional unit by the streaming platform, the real-life Inspector Zende met Manoj Bajpayee and recounted the thrilling manhunt that led to Sobhraj’s arrest.
Zende recalled, “So I got a tip which said that he was in Goa, trying to switch from a smaller boat to a bigger cruise. His wife was in America and he was trying to contact her. So we got a number, it was his motorcycle number. With that number, I went to Goa. There were pilot taxis there, so I went around saying, ‘My brother has run off with my vehicle,’ and then a 16-year-old boy told me, ‘You are very cunning.’ I asked him what he meant. He said, ‘That car is new, peacock-coloured, the chain covers haven’t even been fitted yet. And the man driving it is European, he is fair. You are dark-skinned. How can he be your brother?’ Then I was sure that he must have been here.”
In the same conversation, Zende shared how his fame skyrocketed after apprehending Sobhraj, to the point where even then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi wanted to meet him. Recalling the encounter, he said: “I was standing at the Borivali junction for security arrangements, so when he (Rajiv Gandhi) saw [me], he told his driver to stop the car. ‘I want to meet him,’ [he said]. The security officer told him, ‘Sir, not here.’ But then everyone knows that once even the Prime Minister had stopped his car to meet Zende. The next day, he called me and congratulated me; it was his goodness.”
The upcoming film, releasing this Friday, also stars Jim Sarbh as Carl Bhojraj, a character inspired by the serial killer Charles Sobhraj. It is written and directed by Chinmay Mandlekar. This isn’t the first time Inspector Zende’s life has been portrayed on screen. His exploits inspired Akshay Shah’s 2023 documentary Zende, which premiered at the Mumbai Film Festival and earned acclaim for its flamboyant storytelling.
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