The trailer for Inspector Zende lands with an energy that’s hard to fake. It’s a crime drama at heart, but there’s something else running through it — a dry, lived-in humour that cuts through the grit. This isn’t the kind of slick, over-styled thriller we’ve seen a hundred times. It’s scrappy. It’s grounded. And somehow, it’s also very funny without ever undercutting the stakes.
Manoj Bajpayee plays Zende like a man who’s too tired to pretend, and that’s exactly what makes it work. He’s been here before — literally, in the story — and there’s a weight to his performance that doesn’t need explaining. You don’t get speeches or grand moral stances. You get a sharp look, a tired sigh, and a one-liner that slips out without trying too hard. Bajpayee walks the line between dead serious and quietly hilarious with perfect control.
Jim Sarbh, as Carl Bhojraj, is smooth and unbothered — the kind of villain who doesn’t raise his voice because he doesn’t think he needs to. He makes you uncomfortable without doing much. Just a smile here, a shrug there. It’s enough. When he’s on screen, there’s a sense that anything could happen, and probably will.
But the surprise twist in the trailer is how much personality the supporting cast brings. There’s a moment where the undercover team is told not to use their real names — and the names they come up with are pure gold. “Rishi Kapoor?” one says, deadpan. Another keeps mispronouncing “Chantelle” like he’s ordering street food. It’s absurd in the best way, and it works because the humour isn’t forced — it’s baked into the characters.
The tone balances on a tightrope — serious crime, yes, but not self-serious. The cops don’t have high-tech gear. They don’t even have enough cash. But they have each other, they have instinct, and they have that very specific Mumbai cop energy — rough around the edges, but sharp where it counts.
Inspector Zende doesn’t look like a polished procedural. It looks better. It looks real. It knows when to laugh, when to hold its nerve, and when to punch hard. If the film delivers what this trailer hints at, Netflix might have something genuinely fresh on its hands.
