Paradise With Dark Shadows 

Pristine beaches, glorious golden hours, mouth-watering seafood, expensive stays and the obnoxious taxi mafia - what else comes to your mind when you think of Goa? We fondly cherish the nostalgia that Dil Chahta Hai brings out every time it plays on screen. 

For majority of Indians who can afford, Goa is the gateway to a well-earned vacation. But as with every place on Earth, it also has treacherous shades to it that we tend to ignore and miss.

The Man Who Wouldn’t Bend

This movie takes you to the dark underbelly of Goa - deceptively hidden beyond the 'Goan vibe' that draws visitors from around the world. 

It is not a typical sob story about how an honest Govt. official is smothered and crushed by the 'system' - we have seen plenty of those in the past. 

Costao (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) pays the price for doing his job, and as his daughter narrates the story - we see through her lens a world that is unforgiving for those who choose to stand up against it.

The Machinery of Fear

Directed by newcomer Sejal Shah, Costao makes you think about the limits to which humans can be pushed before they abandon self-conviction. 

Based on a real-life story set in the 1990s, the movie uncovers rampant influence of smuggling mafia in the Goan society, taken head on by a upright Customs officer who survives the onslaught from either side of the law. 

Backed by a supportive ex-boss (for real) with his back against the wall, this is Costao's survival story.

Anthony D'Mello (Kishore Kumar G) is Costao's primary adversary. A former police informant turned crime lord, he graduates into a politician and uses his local clout to run organized crime like a family business. 

He is calm, methodical and relentless - deadly qualities for a mafia boss. Shown as a 'family man', D'Mello marches into a courtroom as if he owns it, and doesn't shy away from nudging women in his family to assault Costao - hallmark of an egalitarian society yeah?

The story also introduces Sameer Narang (Gagan Dev Riar) as a CBI officer from Delhi who is in a hurry to try and implicate Costao. He bullies eye witnesses unchecked, perhaps with blessings of his political 'bosses'. 

Narang is quick to paint threats as fabricated, and often doubts Costao's honesty and integrity. His preference to ditch Goan fish curry for naan and butter chicken tells you that he is not a man to budge easy.

Irony in Headlines, Pain at Home

Despite his life unravelling into a living hell, Costao doesn't lose his dry humor - he is nonchalant and sarcastic talking about the constant risk to his life, and doesn't fail to convey that only a few in the world can actually bear the real cost of honesty, while protecting their own. 

By pointing out Costao's front page appearance in newspapers, the narrator also brings to life the grim irony of his situation.

Justice Served, But at What Cost?

The biggest victim in all of this is Costao's family. Their lives upended, his wife Maria (Priya Bapat) faces the brunt of his deep frustration and anger, rather unfairly. 

But he is not devoid of realisation - he relocates to Mumbai and is forced to watch his children grow up from a distance, as his case gets tossed from one courthouse to another, eventually securing justice but losing 8 years of his life in the process.

Watch this movie if you are a movie lover or if you aren't, you won't regret it either ways.