Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
“Everybody wants an honest and brave officer, but in their neighbour’s house, not their own.”
Nawazuddin Siddiqui delivers this dialogue with grit, passion, and power as Costao Fernandez, a customs officer who becomes the victim of a systematic witch-hunt when duty leads him to kill a powerful politician’s brother in self-defence while attempting to bust his illegal smuggling operation. For a second, it made me forget how he instantly sounded like a guy from U.P. or Bihar pretending to be Goan. I usually do not care for the accuracy of accents or dialects in movies, but Siddiqui’s efforts to sound Goan don’t work, and unfortunately, he doesn’t have a neutral accent either. He was a lot more entertaining in the slow-burn thriller Rautu Ka Raaz and even in Tiku Weds Sheru, which has an abysmal 3.4 rating on IMDb. So, for those who can ignore his evident North Indian twang, the film will probably be a bit more enjoyable.
Directed by Sejal Shah and written by Bhavesh Mandalia and Meghna Srivastava, the 2025 Bollywood film is inspired by the life of a real-life hero – retired customs officer Costao Fernandez, who put everything on the line to do his duty and expose a nefarious smuggling ring. The plot is straightforward, with the first half focusing on Costao’s effort to expose a gold smuggling operation run by the D’Mello brothers. Kishore Kumar G plays the older D’Mello brother, the kingpin of the smuggling racket, who also becomes a powerful politician in the state. Costao ends up killing D’Mello’s younger brother Peter (Hussain Dalal), and the second half of the film focuses on D’Mello’s efforts to extract revenge by hounding Costao’s family and trying his best to ensure Costao gets hanged for ‘murder’.
Set in the 1990s, Costao looks dated, its cinematography is uninspired, and the background music does little to lift the energy of the slow pace. Interestingly, Costao is narrated by Costao’s little daughter, which adds a slight ‘family man’ touch to the tale. Through the daughter’s lens, viewers get to see the kind of sacrifices Costao makes to honestly pursue his duties as a customs officer. Priya Bapat plays his wife Maria Fernandez, and the two often bicker over Maria’s claim that Costao always puts his job before the family.
Costao even feels like it was made in the 1990s too – despite a fresh premise, the creators don’t maximise the story’s potential and make it feel dated and familiar. The casting of Nawazuddin Siddiqui too seems off the mark. He is a talented actor, no doubt, but some other actor who could’ve sold Costao’s Goan identity better should’ve played the part. Regardless, it’s a passable film that celebrates honest, brave government officers.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars. Stream Costao on ZEE5.
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