MB’s Next on OTT: Most Dreaded Bikini Killer

What happens when a relentless cop faces one of history’s most cunning criminals?

Netflix’s Inspector Zende will bring this real-life crime saga to the screen, with Manoj Bajpayee playing the legendary Mumbai cop Madhukar Zende.

Zende caught the infamous serial killer Charles Sobhraj twice. His pursuit of justice is a story for the ages. And to add to the intrigue, Jim Sarbh will play the manipulative “Bikini Killer” in this thriller.

Sobhraj, who murdered Western tourists across Asia in the 1970s, was first caught by Zende in 1971 in Mumbai.

But the master manipulator escaped and continued to deceive. But in 1986, Zende tracked him down again at a Goa restaurant and finally put him behind bars.

This Netflix film is about these encounters and how a dedicated officer outsmarted a criminal who thought he was above the law.

Directed by Chinmay Mandlekar (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Marathi cinema), Inspector Zende is his feature debut.

Produced by Jay Shewakramani (Freddy) and Om Raut (Tanhaji, Adipurush), the film has completed shooting and will release on Netflix later this year.

Zende and Sobhraj’s game of cat and mouse has fascinated people for decades. Zende’s story was told in Akshay M. Shah’s Zende (2023) and Vikramaditya Motwane’s Black Warrant.

Sobhraj’s life was the inspiration for Main Aur Charles (2015) starring Randeep Hooda and Netflix’s The Serpent.

But will Inspector Zende offer a new perspective? With Bajpayee’s raw intensity and Sarbh’s presence, this could be the best adaptation yet.

Besides this, Bajpayee has a busy slate. Fans can look forward to The Family Man 3 where he reprises his role as Srikanth Tiwari.

He’s also starring in Shekhar Kapur’s Masoom: The New Generation with Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi.

With Delhi Crime and The Serpent under their belt, Netflix has crime storytelling down pat.Here he comes.