Nawazuddin Siddiqui swam in crocodile-infested lake for Costao, finished shot despite bike brakes failing

Director Sejal Shah reveals why she insisted that Nawazuddin Siddiqui had to swim in a lake filled with crocodiles for the film Costao.

Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui has impressed many through the years with his performance on-screen, but it looks like it takes a special kind of dedication off-screen for him to achieve that. For his upcoming film, Costao, with director Sejal Shah, he swam in a lake full of crocodiles despite not being a good swimmer. (Also Read: Nawazuddin Siddiqui calls the Pahalgam terror attack ‘sharmnaak’; talks of unity in India: ‘Everyone stands together’)

Nawazuddin Siddiqui in a still from Sejal Shah's Costao.

Why did Nawazuddin Siddiqui swim in a lake full of crocodiles?

Sejal recently shared a jaw-dropping story about how Nawazuddin swam in a lake with crocodiles for Costao. The team wanted to keep the action as ‘real and raw’ as possible, and the actors, including Nawazuddin, were committed to that vision. He trained for weeks in boxing and sprinting for the film.

In one of his most daring moments, he had to jump into a crocodile-infested lake. Sejal reveals that Nawazuddin wasn’t a trained swimmer but insisted on doing the stunt himself to lend it authenticity. “Nawaz always took on tough scenes. There’s a moment in the film where he has to dive into a lake, but the lake had crocodiles, and he insisted on doing it for real, even though he isn’t a great swimmer,” she said.

According to the director, Nawazuddin also did his own stunt in another intense scene featuring a high-speed bike chase. The bike’s brakes even failed, but the actor kept going without breaking character so she could get her shot.

About Costao

Costao is directed by Sejal and stars Nawazuddin as a customs officer from Goa, Costao Fernandes. The gritty crime drama, which will be released on Zee5 on May 1, is based on the life of the real Costao. The film explores the dark underbelly of smuggling operations and features intense, action-packed scenes.

Priya Bapat, Kishore Kumar Huli, Gagan Dev Riar, and Hussain Dalal also star in it. It is produced by Vinod Bhanushali, Kamlesh Bhanushali, Bhavesh Mandalia, Sejal Shah, Shyam Sunder, and Faizuddin Siddiqui.