The Perfect Murder (1988)

Police Inspector Ghote lives a middle-class life in Bombay along with his wife, Pratima. He has been employed with the Bombay Police for many years. His wife is generally disgruntled and ... See full summary »

Director:

Zafar Hai

Writers:

H.R.F. Keating (screenplay), Zafar Hai (screenplay),

Stars:

Naseeruddin Shah, Stellan Skarsgård, Amjad Khan

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Naseeruddin Shah	...	Inspector Ghote
Stellan Skarsgård	...	Axel Svensson
Amjad Khan	...	Lala Heera Lal
Madhur Jaffrey	...	Mrs. Lal
Annu Kapoor	...	Tiny Man
Archana Puran Singh	...	Miss Twinkle
Dalip Tahil	...	Dilip Lal
Dinshaw Daji	...	Mr. Perfect
Johnny Walker	...	Jain
Mohan Agashe	...	A.C.P. Samant
Rajesh Vivek	...	Zero Police
Ratna Pathak	...	Pratima Ghote (as Ratna Pathak Shah)
Salim Ghouse	...	Caste-Marks Goonda
Sameer Kakkad	...	Felix Sousa
Vinod Nagpal	...	Minister

Storyline

Police Inspector Ghote lives a middle-class life in Bombay along with his wife, Pratima. He has been employed with the Bombay Police for many years. His wife is generally disgruntled and wants a better life. He is assigned to investigate the deadly assault on a Parsi man named Perfect, who is the Secretary of Lala Heera Lal, a wealthy man with underworld links. Inspector Ghote commences his investigation and is displeased when his superiors ask him to work with a Swedish Forensic Expert by the name of Axel Svennson. Axel is thrilled to get a closer look at the working of the Bombay Police, but also realizes that Ghote may not be one of their best police officers. When their friendship develops, he gets invited to Ghote's house, and gets to meet Pratima. Their investigation, though Prima Facie simple enough, takes them through turns and twists that both had not expected - including corridors of power and corruption - and finally to the conclusion and the unmasking of the culprit(s) ...

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Plot Keywords:

police | secretary | bombay india | india | criminologist | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Thriller | Action | Crime

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK India

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 March 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Täydellinen murhaaja

Company Credits

Production Co:

Merchant Ivory Productions, Perfect Movie Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writer H. R. F. Keating makes a cameo appearance around eight minutes into the movie. After Inspector Ghote attacks Inspector Svensson thinking he is a diamond smuggler. When the real diamond smuggler realizes that his courier tiny man (Annu Kapoor) has fled, he decides to take a flight out of India and goes to ticketing counter to inquire for the next flight. H. R. F. Keating appears as passenger on the ticket counter in scene.

User Reviews

Get a good whodunit with a lot of laughs

Expect a good mystery. The film explores the full spectrum of Bombay culture and scenic background. The locations and sets are delightful. The characters are well developed. The author of the book gets screen writing credit. Those who are introduced to Inspector Ghote by viewing this film, will probably become interested in checking out the full series of books. There is almost a laugh or chuckle a minute, i.e. chase sequences, pratfalls and sight gags. Cameo appearances by "animals" are a plus. This film belongs in the same category as the "Pink Panther" movies. There is a short run TV series starring Sammy Davis Jr. as "Inspector Ghote". Please email me if you have more info on that to share.