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.
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