Over his illustrious career spanning three decades, Manoj Bajpayee has played a wide array of characters inspired by real-life personalities. From ‘LOC Kargil,’ ‘1971’ and ‘Aligarh’ to ‘Budhiya Singh: Born to Run,’ ‘Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai’ and the recent ‘Despatch’. He has consistently gravitated toward stories rooted in real-life events, delivering raw and electrifying performances with each character.

Bajpayee’s fascination with real-life stories continues as he steps into the role of another iconic figure in his upcoming Netflix feature film, ‘Inspector Zende.’ PeepingMoon.com has exclusively learned that the National Award-winning actor will portray the legendary Mumbai cop Madhukar Zende, who famously captured the notorious serial killer Charles Sobhraj not once but twice, during his extraordinary four-decade career. The film, which went on floors in January, is scheduled to be wrapped up today in Goa.

Zende was a highly respected officer whose illustrious tenure was defined by his management of numerous challenging cases. Through relentless determination and unwavering diligence, he climbed the ranks to become Assistant Commissioner of Police in Mumbai. While his career was marked by many feats, this Netflix film is said to be focusing primarily on his high-stakes encounters with Charles Sobhraj, portrayed by ‘Rocket Boys’ fame Jim Sarbh. The film is crafted as a gripping cat-and-mouse thriller that chronicles Zende’s pursuit and capture of Sobhraj on two separate occasions — first in the bustling Fort area of South Mumbai in 1971 and later in a Goa restaurant in 1986. Following his second arrest, Sobhraj was sentenced to life imprisonment in India. Years later, he faced further consequences in Nepal, where he served an additional 20-year sentence before being released in December 2022 due to his old age.

‘Inspector Zende’ is being directed by Chinmay Mandlekar, a renowned Marathi actor celebrated for playing the iconic role of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in films such as ‘Farzand’, ‘Fatteshikast’, ‘Pawankhind’, ‘Subhedar’ and ‘Sher Shivraj’. Mandlekar will make his feature directorial debut with this project, adding a new dimension to his over two-decade-long acting career. Producing it for Netflix are Jay Shewakramani (Northern Lights Films) and ‘Adipurush’ director Om Raut. Shewakramani continues his Netflix association with this film after previously producing Kartik Aaryan starrer ‘Freddy’ and Kareena Kapoor Khan’s maiden OTT debut, ‘Jaane Jaan.’

Both Madhukar Zende and Charles Sobhraj have been the subjects of numerous cinematic and literary works. Zende’s remarkable career was documented in Akshay M. Shah’s 2023 documentary, ‘Zende,’ and he was also featured in Vikramaditya Motwane’s Netflix series, ‘Black Warrant.’ Sobhraj, too, has been a subject of fascination, inspiring three non-fiction books and numerous screen adaptations, including Randeep Hooda’s ‘Main Aur Charles (2015),’ Netflix’s ‘The Serpent,’ and ‘Black Warrant.’

Talking of Bajpayee’s upcoming lineup, he will soon return as Srikanth Tiwari again for Amazon Prime Video’s ‘The Family Man Season 3.’ He also has Shekhar Kapur’s ‘Masoom: The New Generation’ alongside Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Nithya Menon, and Kaveri Kapur, set to go on floors next month in Mumbai.