Costao (2025) Review!!

Synopsis – The film is inspired by the life of fearless customs officer Mr. Costao Fernandes, who took on Goa’s most powerful smuggling network in the 1990s.

My Take – Indeed, there is no doubt that Nawazuddin Siddiqui is a fantastic performer, bringing a signature intensity and a distinctive charm to every character he takes on. However, his recent output has mostly been more miss than hit, with the occasional blip of something worthy of his talents appearing somewhere in between the lackluster.

His latest offering on Zee5, which is becoming somewhat of a streaming library of the ‘Gangs of Wasseypur‘ actor, too offers glimpses of brilliance, but ultimately doesn’t capitalize on the intriguing real-life events from which it is draws inspiration.

Marking the directorial debut of cinematographer Sejal Shah (Bodyguard), the film draws loose inspiration from the life of customs officer Costao Fernandes, who fought with all his might to stall gold-smuggling in the Goa of the 90s, and aims to be a heartfelt tribute to the committed individual, but the sluggish script and its somewhat uninspired narrative holds the tale back from making a genuine impact.

While a few mass-appeal dialogues provide some unexpected entertainment, they stand out more like isolated highlights rather than a consistent strength.

Sure, given that it’s a biopic, the screenplay wants to stay loyal to factual events, yet, the narrative easily could have benefited from a tighter pace and a few more dramatic beats, particularly, in the latter half.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad film per say, it just seems to have only scratched the surface when it comes to fleshing out the journey of a man who devoted his life to his duty for a feature. If only it had been executed with more verve, this would have been a cinematic experience to remember for all the right reasons.

Set in 1990s Goa, the story follows Costao Fernandes (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), an upright customs officer, who leads a quiet life with his Maria (Priya Bapat), and their three young children. But his principled approach and unwavering commitment to justice has often lands him in perilous confrontations, particularly against those connected to D’Mello (Kishore Kumar G), a powerful leader in the gold smuggling syndicate.

However, his entire life turns upside down when during a tense raid, Costao accidentally ends up killing D’Mello’s brother Peter (Hussain Dalal) in an act of self-defense. Sparking a personal vendetta fueled war in which the newly elected politician D’Mello retaliates by terrorizing Costao and his family by every means possible, all the while as the officer finds himself greying away entangled in a legal battle that steals precious years of his professional and personal life.

Here, the narrative framed through the eyes of Costao’s daughter, initially offers a fresh perspective, but as the proceedings slow down, it also gradually loses its impact. The screenplay, penned by Bhavesh Mandalia and Meghna Srivastava, takes its time establishing Costao’s character but fails to delve deeply into his motivations or the complexities of his moral compass.

But, it is the second half where the film actually loses grip and the pacing turns quite uneven. Following a promising start, the story simply just begins to drag, focusing on repetitive domestic disputes between Costao and his wife, and predictable confrontations with corrupt customs and CBI officials.

Yes, understandably, these sequences are important to the film’s plot, yet they seem to add little to the overarching plot and diminish the overall momentum. Lacking the intensity and the urgency that the first act teased at.

Even the courtroom scenes which had the potential to initiate a deeper, more immersive dialogue about the cost an honest officer pays for simply performing his duty in the country end up being flat and uninspired. Surprising considering the basic idea of the film is to appreciate the penance of a man who went through so much and yet chose not to break down.

Performance wise, Nawazuddin Siddiqui is nothing short of phenomenal, bringing up the necessary depth and nuance to the character even the when the narrative fails him. Comparatively, he himself appears more invested, a welcome change following a few underwhelming recent outings. Priya Bapat is equally impressive and matches step by step with Siddiqui, while adding the required touch of warmth and realism to the story.

Kishore Kumar G doesn’t have much to do here but provide a menacing screen presence, and on that account he scores well. Gagan Dev Riar as the openly corrupt officer Narang, is hilariously despicable. In supporting roles Mahika Sharma, Hussain Dalal, Ravi Shankar Jaiswal, and Arjun Kumar Shrivasttav are adequate. On the whole, ‘Costao‘ is an uneven biopic which despite a towering Nawazuddin Siddiqui performance is letdown by an underwhelming script.