Costao Movie Review: A Real Story Trapped in a Flat, One-Dimensional Narrative

The only compelling reason to sit through Costao is Nawazuddin Siddiqui. His magnetic performance as Costao Fernandes — a courageous customs officer from 1990s Goa — is the lone element that holds this underwhelming biopic together. Based on a true story that has all the ingredients of an intense political thriller, the film sadly lacks both cinematic tension and dramatic flair. Its execution feels uninspired, weighed down by predictable writing, flat characters, and a linear narrative that sucks the energy out of what should have been a riveting account of one man against a rotten system.

The film follows Costao’s efforts to stop a massive 1500kg illegal gold landing. In the process, he accidentally kills Peter, the brother of notorious smuggler D’Mello (played one-dimensionally by Kishore Kumar G). This incident snowballs into a political scandal, turning the system against Costao and putting his family in peril. While this premise should have delivered high-stakes drama and emotional weight, the film instead trudges along at an unhurried pace.

Director Sejal Shah makes the baffling choice to tell this high-voltage story from the point of view of Costao’s young daughter. This childlike lens not only sanitises the narrative but strips it of gravitas. Worse, the decision to narrate in a linear fashion robs the story of intensity. A non-linear approach, beginning with Costao hiding in the jungle after accidentally killing a high-profile figure, would have set a gripping tone. That scene — rich with paranoia, fear, and desperation — deserved to be the film’s opening. Instead, the plot unfolds like a bureaucratic report, ticking boxes rather than building emotional or narrative complexity.

The villains, particularly D’Mello and his henchmen, are cardboard cutouts — loud, stereotypical, and lacking any psychological depth. They serve more as plot devices than genuine adversaries. Their motivations are underdeveloped, their menace non-existent. This flattens the tension and diminishes the stakes, making it difficult to invest in Costao’s fight for justice.

Despite the emotional potential of the story, the film rarely dives into the protagonist’s internal world. Moments that should resonate — like Costao’s quarrel with his wife, where he insists on his innocence while grappling with his own failings as a husband and father — flicker with promise but are never fully explored. That scene, though brief, hints at what the film could have been: nuanced, layered, and emotionally raw.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui, as always, delivers with remarkable subtlety. His portrayal of Costao is restrained yet expressive, capturing both the stoicism of a public servant and the torment of a man targeted by the system he serves. He alone conveys the gravity the script fails to muster. Priya Bapat also deserves mention for her grounded performance as Costao’s wife, though her role is underutilised.

In the end, Costao plays it safe, too safe for its own good. What could have been a searing political thriller becomes a flat, by-the-numbers biopic that never lives up to the real-life drama it’s based on. Watch it only if you’re a Nawazuddin Siddiqui loyalist; he deserves better, and so does the story of Costao Fernandes. The film is currently streaming on Zee5.

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