In her upcoming movie, the Bollywood biopic “Costao”—which will be releasing on the Zee5 Global streaming platform on May 1—actress Priya Bapat will be seen playing Maria, the wife of the titular character. She gracefully balances simple home life with the complex nature of her husband’s challenging profession as an honest customs officer at the receiving end of corrupt smugglers.
In this interview, Bapat discusses her real-life balancing act as a bilingual actress, particularly the contrasts or developments that have taken place in both Marathi and Hindi cinema over the past few decades. Bapat also opens up about working with powerhouse performer Nawazuddin Siddiqui (of “Gangs of Wasseypur,” “Sacred Games,” and “Bajrangi Bhaijaan” fame) and the teamwork that went into bringing “Costao” and her inspiring character to life on-screen.
Vidal D’Costa for The Movie Buff: Thank you for agreeing to this interview. Could you introduce yourself to our readers, and especially how you got your start as an actress? What was it about cinema or the industry as a whole that piqued your interest?
Priya Bapat: Hi, I’m Priya Bapat, and I’ve been an actor for more than 20 years now. I started as a child actor, and my first film was with filmmaker Dr. Jabbar Patel, in the award-winning film “Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar” (2000). I was only in the fifth grade when I debuted, and from there, my journey started.
By the time I finished post-graduation, I had already transitioned to Bollywood with roles in the popular Munnabhai franchise, but even then, I was yet to realise whether I wanted to pursue acting full-time. But after graduation, it dawned on me to go for it. In 2018, I ventured into Hindi cinema with my first web series, “City of Dreams,” which ran for 3 seasons, and later “Raat Jawaan Hai” and a couple of other shows since then. “Costao,” with Nawazuddin Siddiqui, is my second Hindi movie after “Visfot.”
VD: Apart from Bollywood, you work extensively in the Marathi industry too. What are some major similarities or differences that you’ve noticed in the creative processes or work environments in both industries?
“I really appreciate storytellers who portray strong women characters.” — Priya Bapat
PB: I would say that the budgets and production levels are huge contrasts. In the Marathi industry, the audience is limited, hence the budget is limited, but having said that, despite this, we’ve still been able to pull off some amazing work in the past too in the Marathi industry, and the future still looks bright, and I’m hoping this streak continues.
With regards to the Hindi/Bollywood industry, and now with OTT, budgets have started to change, and the focus of viewers too shifted from lavish sets to better storylines, so I feel that has brought audiences back to cinema. Thus, we’ve seen how the story can be so integral. We also have bigger box office releases like Jawan faring well in Bollywood, due to the overall viewing experience in theatres, so there’s a mix of both large-scale and small releases, and a demand for both accordingly.
Because of the scale of production, there’s a major difference in efficiency too. When it comes to the work environment, we are all on the same scale though, especially when it comes to the creativity, hard work and honesty in both these industries.
VD: Coming to Costao, in which you play Maria, what drew you to this role?
PB: Two things were really important for me: First, acting opposite Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and next is how the director and writer presented my character of Maria on-screen. I really appreciate storytellers who portray strong women characters. Even though Maria is part of Costao’s life, you see her going through her own journey as a character and an entire emotional arc, through how she speaks for herself or the choices she makes. Those were key points that made me interested in this script to the point I really wanted to be on board for it.
VD: You share the screen with the versatile Nawazuddin Siddiqui in this movie. How was the overall experience working with him as a co-star? Did you both receive or exchange any creative feedback that helped greatly in the portrayal of your respective characters or in emulating the onscreen relationship of Maria and Costao?
PB: No, Nawaz Sir and I didn’t share any feedback with each other as such. It was fantastic working with him. He is incredibly humble and respectful of the creative space, and he isn’t the correcting type either, so we only shared a mutual appreciation towards each other’s craft and individual creative process. Since he’s more senior to me, I also trusted in him to know his job better. We moreso trusted the director’s decisions and feedback. We both would collaborate with the director (Sejal Shah) and writers (Bhavesh Mandalia and Meghna Srivastava), especially if we had any suggestions to share, and overall, it was a welcoming environment. Since filmmaking is a big collaborative effort, even if we hit a dead end, we could always put our heads together and, of course, resolve it as a team.
“[Nawazuddin Siddiqui] is incredibly humble and respectful of the creative space… —Priya Bapat
VD: Lastly, going forward, are there any genres you are keen to explore, or actors/filmmakers you wish to collaborate with in the near future? And are there any new endeavours in the pipeline that you are most excited for?
PB: I have two Marathi films and a Hindi web series in the pipeline, in the horror-thriller genre. I haven’t done true crime/crime thriller yet, so really interested in exploring that genre, and I’d also love to play a cool spy in the future. I love romcoms, so I look forward to that opportunity when it comes along too.
“Costao” released on the Zee5 Global streaming platform on May 1, 2025.
