Inspector Ghote

Ganesh Ghote
First appearanceThe Perfect Murder (1964)
Last appearanceA Small Case for Inspector Ghote? (2009)
Created byH. R. F. Keating
Portrayed byZia Mohyeddin
Kevork Malikyan
Sam Dastor
Naseeruddin Shah
In-universe information
GenderMale
TitleInspector
OccupationPolice detective
SpouseProtima
ChildrenVed
NationalityIndian

Inspector Ganesh Ghote (pronounced GO-tay)[1] is a fictional Indian police officer who is the main character in English author H. R. F. Keating's detective novels. Ghote is an inspector in the police force of Bombay (a.k.a. Mumbai), India.

Overview

Ghote first appeared in the novel The Perfect Murder (1964), in which his investigation of the apparent murder of the Parsi, Mr Perfect, was assisted informally by the Swedish UNESCO analyst Axel Svensson. The novel, which Keating wrote without ever having been to India, won a Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Award and was adapted into a film in 1988 by Merchant Ivory.

H. R. F. Keating intended Ghote's final appearance to be in the novel Breaking and Entering (2000), in which he was reunited with Axel Svensson as he investigated a series of cat burglaries that ultimately enabled him to solve the high-profile murder that was occupying the rest of his colleagues. Since that time, however, Keating has written Inspector Ghote's First Case (2008) and A Small Case For Inspector Ghote? (2009).

Ghote's father appears in the novel The Murder of the Maharajah (1980). Ghote is married; his wife, Protima, is a beautiful, spirited, and argumentative, though loving, Bengali. They have a son, Ved, invariably referred to in the earlier novels as "little Ved". In most novels, Ghote finds that he has to spend almost as much time fighting the Indian criminal justice system bureaucracy as he does in fighting criminals. He also tends to get little respect from the often rich and powerful people he must investigate in connection with his work, though in the end he typically wins the day through sheer doggedness.[2] In these characteristics, he has been compared to the American fictional detective Columbo.[3]

Adaptations

Film

The noted actor Naseeruddin Shah played the role of Ghote in The Perfect Murder.

Television

Zia Mohyeddin starred in an adaptation of Inspector Ghote Hunts the Peacock for the BBC anthology series Detective.

In May 2020, Endemol Shine India was announced to adapt the novels for Television.[4] As of 2024, there has been no word on the project.

BBC Radio

Kevork Malikyan played Ghote twice: Inspector Ghote Makes a Journey (1973[5]) and Inspector Ghote and the River Man (1974[6]).

In 1984, Sam Dastor starred in Inspector Ghote Hunts the Peacock.[7])

List of books

Notes

  1. ^ DeAndrea, William L. (1997). Encyclopedia Mysteriosa. Prentice Hall. p. 135.
  2. ^ Steinbrunner, Chris; Penzler, Otto (1976). Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. p. 168.
  3. ^ DeAndrea, William L. (1997). Encyclopedia Mysteriosa. Prentice Hall. p. 135.
  4. ^ Frater, Patrick (13 May 2020). "HRF Keating's 'Inspector Ghote' Novels To Be Adapted for TV by Endemol Shine India (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Afternoon Theatre". BBC Radio. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  6. ^ "Midweek Theatre". BBC Radio. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  7. ^ "Saturday-Night Theatre: Murder for Pleasure: Inspector Ghote Hunts the Peacock". BBC Radio. Retrieved 29 November 2024.