 "Netflix and Manoj Bajpayee's 'Inspector Zende': When the real Inspector Zende saved Mumbai city from a wild elephant")
The real-life Mumbai Police officer Madhukar Zende, who is portrayed in the upcoming Netflix film Inspector Zende, streaming from September 5, 2025.
Zende was an ACP known for hunting criminals, especially the notorious serial killer Charles Sobhraj, whom he famously arrested twice. The film, starring Manoj Bajpayee , is loosely based on Zende’s career and chronicles his relentless pursuit of the ‘Swimsuit Killer’.
He was known for arresting big dons like Haji Mastan and Karim Lala. According to reports, Zende was the first and only officer in the history of the Mumbai Police to receive both the Police Medal for Meritorious Service and the President’s Medal for Distinguished Service in consecutive years.
There is another story about him. He once saved the Mumbai city from a wild elephant that went berserk. Zende not only controlled its fury but also fed it with food by taking it to a corner, and this incident unfolded right outside a newspaper office and he was named Jigardar Poria.
The real Inspector Zende ’s career graph
According to India Today report, Zende, who served in the police force for nearly three decades, became a household name after his arrest of Sobhraj, also known as ‘_The Serpen_t’ for his ability to slip through legal systems across the world. Sobhraj was wanted in several countries for a string of robberies, fraud, and serial murders. In a recent interview he mentioned that he first met Sobhraj, who had arrived in Mumbai in 1971 with a group of men, planning a major robbery.
About Manoj Bajpayee starrer Netflix’s ‘Inspector Zende’
Netflix’s Inspector Zende trailer: Manoj Bajpayee and Jim Sarbh starrer promises to be an epic cat-and-mouse chase thriller. The trailer teases a quirky, nostalgia-filled, relentless chase that celebrates a hero whose story deserves to be told.