zende inspector Mumbai Police legend Madhukar Zende is finally getting the spotlight he deserves in Netflix’s Inspector Zende, releasing on September 5, 2025. The film dramatizes his unprecedented pursuit—and two successful apprehensions—of Charles Sobhraj, the notorious serial offender dubbed the “Bikini Killer” for targeting Western tourists along Asia’s Hippie Trail in the 1970s TIMEWhat’s on NetflixIndiatimes.
Zende first arrested Sobhraj in 1971 in Mumbai, uncovering a plot that culminated in a raid at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. Sobhraj escaped later that year amid a blackout and went on to stage a bold prison break from Tihar Jail in 1986, where he drugged guards with sweets before fleeing TIMEPINKVILLAwww.ndtv.com.
Using clever clues—a distinctive peacock-green motorcycle spotted in Goa, phone records from a local restaurant named O’Coqueiro, and tip-offs from locals—Zende disguised himself as a tourist and re-arrested the killer in Goa on April 6, 1986, uttering the now-famous words: “Hello, Charles. How are you?” TIMEPINKVILLAIndiatimes.
Today, Zende is 88 years old and celebrated as one of India’s most skilled detectives. The movie stars Manoj Bajpayee as Zende and Jim Sarbh as the reimagined villain “Carl Bhojraj,” a character based on Sobhraj PINKVILLAWikipedia.
