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

The one compelling motive to take a seat by way of Costao is Nawazuddin Siddiqui. His magnetic efficiency as Costao Fernandes — a brave customs officer from Nineteen Nineties Goa — is the lone aspect that holds this underwhelming biopic collectively. Based mostly on a real story that has all of the substances of an intense political thriller, the movie sadly lacks each cinematic pressure and dramatic aptitude. Its execution feels uninspired, weighed down by predictable writing, flat characters, and a linear narrative that sucks the power out of what ought to have been a riveting account of 1 man in opposition to a rotten system.

The movie follows Costao’s efforts to cease a large 1500kg unlawful gold touchdown. Within the course of, he unintentionally kills Peter, the brother of infamous smuggler D’Mello (performed one-dimensionally by Kishore Kumar G). This incident snowballs right into a political scandal, turning the system in opposition to Costao and placing his household in peril. Whereas this premise ought to have delivered high-stakes drama and emotional weight, the movie as a substitute trudges alongside at an unhurried tempo.

Director Sejal Shah makes the baffling alternative to inform this high-voltage story from the standpoint of Costao’s younger daughter. This childlike lens not solely sanitises the narrative however strips it of gravitas. Worse, the choice to relate in a linear vogue robs the story of depth. A non-linear method, starting with Costao hiding within the jungle after unintentionally killing a high-profile determine, would have set a gripping tone. That scene — wealthy with paranoia, worry, and desperation — deserved to be the movie’s opening. As an alternative, the plot unfolds like a bureaucratic report, ticking containers relatively than constructing emotional or narrative complexity.

The villains, significantly D’Mello and his henchmen, are cardboard cutouts — loud, stereotypical, and missing any psychological depth. They serve extra as plot units than real adversaries. Their motivations are underdeveloped, their menace non-existent. This flattens the stress and diminishes the stakes, making it troublesome to put money into Costao’s combat for justice.

Regardless of the emotional potential of the story, the movie not often dives into the protagonist’s inner world. Moments that ought to resonate — like Costao’s quarrel along with his spouse, the place he insists on his innocence whereas grappling along with his personal failings as a husband and father — flicker with promise however are by no means totally explored. That scene, although transient, hints at what the movie may have been: nuanced, layered, and emotionally uncooked.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui, as all the time, delivers with outstanding subtlety. His portrayal of Costao is restrained but expressive, capturing each the stoicism of a public servant and the torment of a person focused by the system he serves. He alone conveys the gravity the script fails to muster. Priya Bapat additionally deserves point out for her grounded efficiency as Costao’s spouse, although her function is underutilised.

Ultimately, Costao performs it secure, too secure for its personal good. What may have been a searing political thriller turns into a flat, by-the-numbers biopic that by no means lives as much as the real-life drama it is primarily based on. Watch it provided that you are a Nawazuddin Siddiqui loyalist; he deserves higher, and so does the story of Costao Fernandes. The movie is at the moment streaming on Zee5.

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