/> Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Rana Daggubatti, Lakshmi Manchu, Abhimanyu Singh, Vijay Raaz, Anjana Sukhani, Madhu Shalini and Nathalia Kaur

Story, Screenplay, Dialogue: Nilesh Girkar
Music: Bappi Lahiri, Dharam-Sandeep, Vikram Magi
Producer: Siddhant Oberoi, Amit Sharma
Director: Ram Gopal Varma
Rating: *

We all know Ram Gopal Verma's penchant for Underworld and Horror films but Department is his one special experiment where he, inadvertently, amalgamates the two. He makes a hard hitting (on your nerves) Underworld flick that turn out to be a horror viewing. I bet, even a 'cruciatus curse' won't to hurt you that much.

Of course, he is renowned for his quirky camera angles but mounting it on the tea cups, under the charpoy and worse... over a carrom striker, what was that?

And what's with two and a half hour of spasmodic shoot. I hear that 28 students of FX School, Mumbai, have shot, edited, and given the visual effects for Department- indeed making it a shaking experience for all us, the star-crossed audience.

Songs are incomprehensible, background score never ceases for a moment and Ramu's 'Cheeni' girl Nathalia Kaur seems to have no idea what she is gyrating to. It's just all 150 minutes of cacophony replete with gunshots, hackneyed dialogues and poor cinematic skills.



In case, you are still interested in the plot, here it goes. Shiv Narayan (Rana Duggabati) is an honest cop who is torn between his duty and justice. He is beckoned by another gun-toting cop Mahadev Bhosle (Sanjay Dutt) to a 'Department' which will be above the law and deliver instant justice.



Together they take on Sawatya (Vijay Raaz), a semi clad Mumbai don and his henchman D.K. (Abhimanyu Singh) and his moll Madhu Shalini. But dang! Mahadev is also on the payrolls of Muhammad Ghauri, a non resident don based in, where else, but the gulf.

Sarje Rao (Amitabh Bachchan), a gangster-turned-politician and a cunning wolf breaks this news to Shiv Narayan. And cop buddies turn foes.

After several bouts of camera convulsions, oodles of overacting and cheesy wisecracks, the two confront each other in a fatal battle bringing respite to the poor audience stuck in the movie theatres.



About the performances? They all overact in this weak script - be it brooding cop, cunning cop, the loving wife, the innocent wife, the don, his boss, his henchman or his moll.

While you are in there, cursing yourself for being there in the first place, you realise Ram Gopal Verma is turning out to be a serial offender of Hindi Cinema. The angst and creative genius is long gone and what remains is the poor joke of his once raw energy.

I don't want to be bringer of bad news RGV but the bitter truth is your film fails in each and every DEPARTMENT.

PS: Whenever you understand the difference between illegally legal and legally illegal, do enlighten us too.