Inspector Zende’s ending was about the titular police officer and his team nabbing the famous serial killer, Carl Bhojraj. After his escape from Tihar Jail, Inspector Madhukar Bapurao Zende had been tasked by DGP Chandrakant Purandhare with nabbing Carl, because he had done so once earlier. Madhukar headed a team that comprised Patil, Jacob, Patekar, Deshmane, and Naik. And their search for the elusive criminal took them all the way from Mumbai to Goa. Since this was a secret operation, they couldn’t seek assistance from the Goa Police, which put them at loggerheads with the local authorities, especially Fonseca. They were under constant pressure from the Home Minister, the Foreign Minister, and even Delhi Police. Their funds were running dry. On top of all that, the Prime Minister was about to visit Goa, and Chandrakant wanted some good news before that. The odds were stacked against Madhukar and his crew, but they soldiered on because they knew that they had one advantage: Carl and his associate, David, couldn’t leave India and go to America until they had their passports. Also, to make that trip via cargo ship, Carl needed money, which was in his wife, Chantelle’s possession. In order to talk to Chantelle, Carl required access to a telephone from which overseas calls could be made. That phone was at the O’Coqueiro Family Restaurant. So, Madhukar decided to stake out the place. Did he nab Carl? Let’s find out.
Spoiler Alert
Even though Jacob, Patekar, Deshmane, and Naik were of the opinion that it’d be better to set a trap at the docks of Porvorim—because that was where Carl and David were supposed to escape through—Madhukar stayed put at the O’Coqueiro Family Restaurant. Why? Because he had a hunch that Carl and David would show up there so that Carl could make one last call to Chantelle before setting sail. Patil, who had allowed Carl and David to slip through his fingers once already, decided to stick with Madhukar, just in case his boss was in the right and the rest of them were wrong. Of course, Madhukar was in the right, and he spotted Carl and David strolling through the restaurant, perfectly camouflaged amongst the horde of people who had convened there to attend the wedding reception. Locating them was the easy part; approaching them without spooking them was the tough part. So, Madhukar disguised himself as a waiter and cornered both of them. While he couldn’t get ahold of David, he latched onto Carl like a fly to honey. Patil took down David, though.
Jacob, Patekar, Deshmane, and Naik came to the realization that the car they had rented wasn’t functional, and since that was their only means of getting to the docks, they had to cancel that plan. Conveniently enough, that’s when they noticed a big old commotion inside the restaurant and rushed in. They saw Madhukar struggling to hold on to Carl and helped him out. The news of the capture of Carl and David was immediately conveyed to Chandrakant while he was being felicitated by the prime minister, and the DGP couldn’t help but smile at the work done by his team. He gave Madhukar and his team the order to immediately transport Carl to Mumbai so that he could be jailed once again, and the Mumbai Police could get the credit for this amazing feat. That was easier said than done because, as mentioned before, they didn’t have a vehicle in which they could transport Carl. They couldn’t ask for the Goa Police’s help, as they’d want credit for nabbing the great Carl Bhojraj. So, Madhukar got the newlywed couple to part ways with their wedding van in exchange for a photo with Carl and hit the road.
In an attempt to pacify the Goa Police and keep Fonseca occupied while Carl was taken across the Maharashtra-Goa border, Deshmane and Naik dropped David at their doorstep. That didn’t quite work, because while Deshmane and Naik were buttering up Fonseca, he got a call from the Goa Police Commissioner, who told him that while he was sitting there listening to the Mumbai Police’s nonsense, they were transporting Carl to Mumbai. So, Fonseca, along with his constables and officers, put the pedal to the metal and got ahold of Madhukar and his crew before they dragged Carl to Maharashtra. Still, somehow, Madhukar successfully moved Carl across the invisible line that separated the two states, and that didn’t go down well with Fonseca. Things got so heated that it seemed like Fonseca was about to shoot Madhukar in the head for simply doing his job. Thankfully, Chandrakant arrived on the scene and put an end to the fiasco. That said, instead of painting Fonseca in a bad light, Madhukar actually appreciated his dedication to following the orders he had been given by his boss. He also claimed that Fonseca was integral to the capture of Carl, which prompted Chandrakant to thank him profusely. Carl was chucked into the police van and taken to jail. The serial killer said that while he’ll be remembered for his feats, Madhukar’s name will either be forgotten or only uttered in the same breath as Carl’s.
In Inspector Zende’s ending, the real Madhukar Bapurao Zende met his real-life counterpart as the title card read that the latter was the first recipient of the President’s medal and that he had concluded his career as an Assistant Commissioner of Police in 1996. The fictional Madhukar then went back home to reunite with his wife, Vijaya, and resume his daily chores, starting with buying milk. This time around though, instead of only Uncle Joshi recognizing Madhukar, every single customer at the milk stand congratulated him for nabbing the elusive Carl Bhojraj. But what was the point of the film? From a purely narrative POV, I guess writer-director Chinmay Mandlekar tried to show that police work isn’t all fun and games even if the tone is lighthearted. Regardless of the genre, solving crimes usually involves a lot of sitting, waiting, and negotiating with other crime fighters. However, if the ultimate aim is to solve crime, then all that sitting, waiting, and negotiating will seem worth it. If a law enforcer’s main goal is to get “credit” for doing the bare minimum and having their name printed on every newspaper in existence, then reducing the crime rate of their state and the rest of the country takes a backseat.
Maybe the real-life Zende wasn’t as “dabangg” as his peers and his successors. That’s why, as predicted by Carl Bhojraj, the fictional incarnation of Charles Sobhraj, the inspector-turned-assistant commissioner doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page of his own. His name comes up only when people are talking about Charles, which is wrong. Regardless of his accomplishments, I suppose Madhukar, as well as his compatriots, deserves to get the mainstream attention that a criminal like Charles has gotten over the past few decades. I don’t think extrajudicial punishment and police brutality need to be given the “comical” treatment for the sake of laughs. However, if the state of law and justice needs to improve, we probably need examples like Zende instead of the umpteenth attempt at emulating Singham. Maybe that’ll motivate police officers to support each other, cooperate with one another, and also have a healthy work-life balance. Anyway, those are just my thoughts on Inspector Zende’s ending. If you have any opinions on the same, feel free to share them through the comments section below.
