Sejal
Shah’s
flatly-narrated
timeline
would
probably
serve
better
as
a
documentary,
observes
Sukanya
Verma.
Nawazuddin
Siddiqui’s
gift
to
embody
individuals
committed
to
their
ideology
is
frequent
fodder
for
cinema.
After
playing
the
unwavering
Dashrath
Manjhi
in
Manjhi:
The
Mountain
Man,
illustrious
author
Saadat
Hasan
Manto
in
Manto,
blunt
politician
and
Shiv
Sena
founder
Bal
Thackeray
in
Thackeray
and
psychotic
serial
killer
Raman
Raghav
in
Raman
Raghav
2.0,
the
actor
plays
a
1990s
Goan
hero
in
the
eponymous
Costao.
Customs
officer
Costao
Fernandes
rose
to
fame
for
standing
his
ground
against
an
influential
smuggling
kingpin
when
the
latter
dragged
him
to
court
for
the
murder
of
his
younger
brother.
That
it
was
out
of
self-defence
and
he
was
acting
on
a
tip
given
to
him
by
his
informer,
concerning
the
landing
of
smuggled
gold
weighing
a
whopping
1,500
kilograms,
is
feebly
established
in
the
second
half
of
this
two-hour
drama.
Based
on
a
true
story
of
one
man’s
courage
and
resilience,
Costao’s
plight
is
all
the
more
unfortunate
given
his
squeaky
clean
reputation
as
a
model
of
rectitude,
stickler
for
professional
perfection,
fitness
freak
with
expertise
in
football
and
karate
and
dedicated
family
man
though
he’s
‘always
on
duty.’
Directed
by
journalist-turned-director
Sejal
Shah
and
co-written
by
Bhavesh
Mandalia,
Costao
begins
with
a
voiceover
from
his
knee-high
daughter
singing
paeans
of
Costao’s
24
karat
purity
and
undying
devotion
to
his
work.
Lest
one
presumes
he
only
got
the
job
as
part
of
the
sports
quota,
Costao
uses
his
athletic
skills
across
his
brain
and
brawn
to
catch
the
traffickers.
A
good
deal
of
the
biopic
set
in
the
pre-cell
phone
era,
plays
out
like
an
aww-filled
scrapbook,
making
notes
of
his
no
bribes,
no
bullshit
character,
no
different
from
the
one
maintained
by
his
hero-worshipping
kid.
Only
there’s
a
sluggishness
to
the
proceedings
that
deserve
intrigue
and
curiosity
over
how
informers
or
smuggling
networks
operate.
Nawaz
offers
a
no-nonsense
demeanour
and
sharp
sarcasm
that
only
a
fool
would
dare
confuse
for
humour.
He
conveys
Costao’s
quick-witted
persona
with
as
much
ease
as
his
upright
stance,
which
receives
able
support
from
his
colleagues
in
the
Custom
Office,
especially
when
pestered
by
a
chronic
CBI
bully
reeking
of
Dilliwalah
cliches.
But
the
strains
of
dragging
court
cases
prove
harder
on
his
better
half
(Priya
Bapat)
when
the
bad
guys
(Kishore
Kumar
G)
persist
in
proving
Costao
guilty.
It
would
have
been
interesting
to
see
how
a
government
official
isn’t
above
harassment
when
the
corrupt
are
calling
the
shots.
Nawaz
is
seasoned
enough
to
keep
the
focus
on
his
character’s
mental
strength
despite
a
building
disillusionment
even
when
the
movie
cannot
tell
them
apart.
Sejal
Shah’s
flatly-narrated
timeline
would
probably
serve
better
as
a
documentary,
a
genre
the
filmmaker
has
former
experience
in.
But
neither
the
tamely
captured
everyday
Goa
nor
the
meekly
posed
threats
before
Costao
convey
the
climate
or
crisis
of
the
said
story.
Random
moments
of
whim
taking
over
wisdom
only
imbalance
the
tone
further.
Like
a
surreal
mob
of
black
widows
popping
up
from
nowhere
to
attack
Costao
in
a
music
video-evoking
sensibility
or
him
recklessly
drawing
nervous
responses
at
a
school
sports
day
scene
by
frolicking
around
the
premises
in
a
gun.
Shah’s
direction
is
much
too
linear
to
afford
such
gimmicks
or
quirk.
So
when
things
fall
in
Costao’s
favour,
they
just
do,
just
like
that.
Costao
Fernandes’
vindication
is
a
lot
more
profound
than
that.
The
movie
remembers
but
cannot
recreate
the
feeling.
Costao
streams
on
ZEE5.
Costao Review
Rediff
Rating:
