Inspector Zende, the new spoof movie starring Manoj Bajpayee and Jim Sarbh, succeeds as a concept but fails in execution.

What could’ve been a homegrown homage to The Naked Gun comes across as a first draft in need of clever rewrites.

While Bajpayee is going full ham in the central role, matching the movie’s energy, Sarbh seems to have been told to tone it down. The result is a tonally uneven ride that could’ve been worse, but also better.

—

Hosted by Akhil Arora and Rohan Naahar, The Long Take is fully bootstrapped. Please consider donating if you enjoy our work.

The Long Take is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Gaana, JioSaavn, Overcast, Pandora, RadioPublic, iHeart Radio, YouTube Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow The Long Take on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and YouTube. Write to us at thelongtakepod@gmail.com.