Inspector Ganesh Ghote (pronounced "GO-tay") is a fictional
police officer
A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...
who is the main character in
H. R. F. Keating's
detective novel
Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...
s. Ghote is an
inspector
Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it.
Australia
In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...
in the police force of
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
(a.k.a. Mumbai),
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
Overview
Ghote first appeared in the novel ''
The Perfect Murder'' (1964), in which his investigation of the apparent murder of the
Parsi
Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...
, Mr Perfect, was assisted informally by the
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
analyst Axel Svensson. The novel, which Keating wrote without ever having been to India, won a
Crime Writers' Association
The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) is a specialist authors’ organisation in the United Kingdom, most notable for its Dagger awards for the best crime writing of the year, and the Diamond Dagger awarded to an author for lifetime achievement. T ...
Gold Dagger
The Gold Dagger is an award given annually by the Crime Writers' Association of the United Kingdom since 1960 for the best crime novel of the year.
From 1955 to 1959, the organization named their top honor as the Crossed Red Herring Award. From ...
Award and was adapted into a
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
in 1988 by
Merchant Ivory
A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...
.
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. In these characteristics, he has been compared to the American fictional detective
Columbo
''Columbo'' () is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC f ...
.
Adaptations
The noted actor
Naseeruddin Shah
Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He is notable in Indian parallel cinema. He has also starred in international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfare A ...
played the role of Ghote in ''
The Perfect Murder''. Ghote also appeared in a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. The same novel was again adapted by the BBC this time as a radio drama starring
was announced to adapt the novels for Television.
'' (1971)
*''Inspector Ghote Trusts the Heart'' (1972)
*''Bats Fly Up for Inspector Ghote'' (1974)
*''Filmi, Filmi, Inspector Ghote'' (1976)
*''Inspector Ghote Draws a Line'' (1979)
*''The Murder of the Maharajah'' (1980, CWA Gold Dagger Award winner)
*''Go West Inspector Ghote'' (1981)
*''The Sheriff of Bombay'' (1984)
*''
'' (1990)
*''Inspector Ghote, His Life and Crimes'' (1989); short story collection
*''