All through the film, Varma toys with shots. This, along with his penchant to shoot with odd camera angles makes you almost giddy as you try to keep your eyes on the screen. If only the director, once known as a maverick filmmaker who changed the norms of Indian cinema, paid attention to the script and the way it had been written.

This film also gives the impression that RGV is stuck between the cinema he’s known to make and commercial cinema. At times, you feel this film is aimed at the masses and at other times, that Varma has reverted to ‘his’ type of cinema. This constant flux suggests that Varma is struggling and confused, with the result that Department has turned into a wishy-washy affair.

There’s nothing new about the premise of the film. There’s nothing new about the way it has been written. There’s nothing new about how it has been presented. There’s nothing new about the action scenes. There’s nothing new about anything in this film! Tragically, a filmmaker once regarded as an ‘intellectual’ director who gave even the thinking audience a run for their money, has obviously lost his touch.

The film is about a game of one-upmanship between the guru and his chela. Both of them work in the same department. Rana Daggubati is suspended and Sanjay Dutt is asked to set up a department that will nail the underworld. But Dutt knows what Daggubati is capable of and so he asks him to join his team, who have no choice but to follow his instructions and beliefs.

Daggubati respects Dutt and falls in line. Enter Amitabh Bachchan (an underworld ganglord-turned- politician), who makes Daggubati see the thin line between his belief in Dutt and the truth. It’s the beginning of a cat-and-mouse game between Dutt and Daggubati. What follows forms the crux of the film.

The film starts with a bang, with the introduction of Daggubati followed by his suspension. This is followed by a fight sequence featuring Dutt. But soon, you realise the film doesn’t deliver what you were hoping to see. It also begins to drag. Now a string of disjointed scenes in a comedy is acceptable as most of these films lacks a story line and depends on gags and punches. Not an action film. And this is where the film disappoints.

There are several unnecessary scenes and most of the actors are forced to deliver over-the-top performances, especially Vijay Raaz. Why do they shout instead of just speaking? Then there’s the string of songs. Neither are they good nor are they well picturised. Most of them were just not needed. The item song in the pub picturised on Nathalia Kaur is an example of the cheapest choreography one has seen in years. As for the scene where the camera zooms in on Madhu Shalini scratching her thigh is abominable.

Not only does RGV fail in the story-screenplay-dialogue department, he flops with execution as well. Background music doesn’t offer anything. Music is pathetic. So are the lyrics. In a nutshell, this film disappoints in every department of filmmaking except performances.

But here too, only Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt impress. Rana Daggubati fails to emote and his dialogue delivery is weak. He’s only good in action scenes, where performance doesn’t matter. Vijay Raaz and Abhimanyu Singh are only shown shouting. Their ‘performances’ only irritate! And why on earth is Madhu Shalini making faces and wearing weird expressions? Anjana Sukhani looks old and is average. Laxmi Manchu is all right. Deepak Tijori makes his presence felt.

Verdict: D for Department, D for Disappointment

Mr. BB Bhatti (Anupam Kher) is an assistant bank manager who dreams of meeting George Bush to discuss his plans for world peace with him. He also worships Amitabh Bachchan and spends every Sunday outside his bungalow, waiting to meet the superstar. Then, out of the blue, Kher wins an all-expenses paid trip to England. Once there, Bhatti discovers he is a dead ringer for Abu Siddique, a terrorist involved in the London bombings. Siddique has been underground for a long time and the police use Bhatti as a decoy, confident they can smoke out the real Siddique. How Bhatti gets involved in bizarre situations takes the story forward.

The handling and treatment of the script is weak and fails to stitch the screenplay together. The comic situations are done to death in earlier films and fail to make any impact. They are also sketchy, which is a further dampener. In fact, many scenes could have been more comic and are missed opportunities. So, as quickly as the tempo builds, the film begins to lose steam. Sure, there are a few moments worth watching but too few. The film does pick up pace in the second half but, once again, quickly loses its swiftness.

The dialogue is vague and repetitive. Cinematography is average. Editing could have been sharp.  Performance-wise, Anupam Kher fails to impress this time. He tries to lift the film but poor writing and screenplay let him down. Bhairavi Goswami is irksome. Abid Ali plays his part well. Shakti Kapoor has very little to do. The rest of the cast lends adequate support.

Verdict: Dud

The film has a certain artificiality attached to it. From direction to acting, everything is stilted and counterfeit. There are moments that are either unnecessary or fail to evoke any emotion. The film is also patchy and inconsistent and does not keep you hooked. In fact, the second half starts to get boring.

Director Chandra Pemmaraju fails to perk up and constrict the script. He does handle some scenes with aplomb but the basic premise of the story is a disappointment. Everyone associated with the technical department of this film from writing to execution to music to background score to editing is a letdown. Dialogue is clichéd. Cinematography is mediocre.

Performance-wise, Melanie Kannokada looks comfortable on screen and gets into her character’s skin. She stays true to her role throughout. Arjun Gupta does well. Lavrenti Lopes fits the bill. The rest of the cast lends adequate support.

Verdict: Disaster

MMX – 1,70,026

Silver City – 1,09,334

Movie World – 6,1,744

Movie Magic – 56,794

Movie Palace – 35,808

STAR X – 58,926

M4U – 22,836

S M World – 41,720

Choudhury – 37,327

Galaxie – 32,592

MMX – 4,41,850

Silvercity – 3,09,396

Movie World – 2,99,226

Movie Magic – 1,50,106

Movie Palace- 1,36,654

STAR X – 2,02,096

Choudhary – 1,16,494

Galaxie – 1,52,560

Big Rave 3 – 62,062

Big rave Moti – 1,46,593

Cinemax – 1,18,806

Inox – 1,70,628

Pammi – 90,664

Delite – 4,55,572

Shiela – 2,73,098

Liberty – 4,33,666

Vishal – 2,84,163

3c’s – 91,374

Eros – 30,900

Sapna – 1,80,470

Amba – 1,90,801

Batra – 1,55,234

Seble – 1,19,410

Batra –  4,7042

Odeon – 1,75,763

Plaza – 1,75,643

Rivoli – 53,187

Priya (7) 75911

Anupam – 1,53,520

Pvr – 1,81,750

Pvr – 2,23,473

Pvr – 55,629

Pvr -91,995

Pvr – 86,483

Pvr – 1,27,995

Wave – 65,548

Pvr – 91,995

Pvr – 86,483

Pvr – 1,27,995

Wave – 65,548

Dt – 1,11,131

Dt star – 2,01,079

Dt star – 1,95,203

M2k – 1,52,918

Sat – 51,700

Sat – 1,06,824

Sat – 92,667

M2k- 58,375

Fun – 66,198

Fun – 86,592

Fun – 1,55,045

Fun – 1,39,463

G3s – 1,04,800

M.time – 32,737

M.time – 76,741

M.Palace – 35,808

M4u – 22836

Delite –  4,60,800

Abhishek – 1,38,412

3c’s – 5,15,009

Eros – 3,38,310

Batra – 3,44,712

Samrat – 2,79,491

Aakash – 1,39,199

Odeon – 8,93,751

Plaza – 6,32,879

Rivoli – 5,74,357

Priya 1188836

Anupam – 16,11,164

Pvr – 9,94,460

Pvr – 19,64,868

Pvr – 6,78,123

Pvr – 8,04,318

Pvr – 8,95,688

Pvr – 5,51,895

Wave – 11,02,173

Dt – 12,90,975

Dt Star – 14,31,824

Dt star – 18,79,168

G3s – 5,87,650

Sat – 6,10,021

Sat – 11,20,359

Sat – 12,79,648

M2k – 5,56,312

M2k – 4,54,957

M.time – 1,66,440

M.time – 7,37,281

M.Palace – 1,36,654

Fun –  4,55,158

Fun – 7,18,983

Fun – 10,39,505

Fun – 10,09,123

Big- 11,200 out of 24,313

Chitra- 18,025 out of 30,000

Prabhat- 18,719 out of 29,000

Gentyal- 3,670 out of 18,000

City Centre- 4,883 out of 16,278

Cinemax- 6,447 out of 21,493

Fame- 5,957 out of 19,858

Divya- 5,491 out of 18,306

Regimentle- 1,578 out of 5,261

Big- 4,800 out of 26,000

Regal- 3,800 out of 22,000

E-Orbit- 6,822 out of 24,500

Big- 5,100 out of 26,400

Raj Kamal- 9,236 out of 24,000

Smurthi- 12,000 out of 42,980

Jaishree- 8,000 out of 21,095

Raj Vilas- 4,000 out of 15,167

Sangam- 5,000 out of 24,600

Inox Tuli- 5,800 out of 22,000

Inox Poonam- 5,100 out of 18,000

Cinemax- 19,196 out of 34,000

Aastha- 9,000 out of 30,000

Kastoor- 10,200 out of 38,000

Madhu Milan- 10,000 out of 21,200

Smriti- 4,500 out of 17,000

PVR- 4,000 out of 17,000

Mangal Big- 2,010 out of 16,040

Inox CP- 2,100 out of 18,200

Inox SS – 1,920 out of 21,000

Velocity- 2,000 out of 13,500

Broadway- 1,610 out of 15,000

Satyam- 2,456 out of 19,880

K Sera Sera- 1,244 out of 16,480

Choudhury- 2,700 out of 8,500

Galaxy- 1,896 out of 20,500

MMX- 5,960 out of 22,000

Shipra- 6,110 out of 23,400

Darpan – 6,612 out of 26,000 (Ist Show)

Darpan – 7,000 out of 26,000 (IInd Show)

SRS- 17,230 out of 17,540

Jublee- 6,200 out of 21,240

Maya- 5,000 out of 16,652

Vijay- 17,594 out of 22,899

Sheila- 20,000 out of 59,000

Liberty- 25,000 out of 69,000

Golcha- 15,000 out of 48,000

Vishal- 38,000 out of 1,05,000

Regal- 14,000 out of 35,000

Sapna- 10,000 out of 58,000

Samrat- 12,000 out of 57,000

Batra- 7,000 out of 45,000

3C – 19,000 out of 38,000

Sebal- 8,000 out of 33,000

Amba- 15,000 out of 60,000