Department

Director: Ram Gopal Varma

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Rana Daggubati and Anjana Sukhani

Vertigo is described in the dictionary as ‘an affection of the head in which objects, though stationary, appear to move in various directions, and the person affected finds it difficult to maintain an erect posture’. That may also be the apt explanation of the state of the viewers of Ram Gopal Varma’s Department. Experimental camerawork is one thing, but the fatal mix of a non-existent story and a camera that constantly spins like a merry-go-round guarantees a dizzy spell for the audience. 

Department is a cop saga. It’s an action film that shows bad cops fighting gangs. They’re killing the baddies like they would vermin and that gives the film a very gritty and bloody visual character. But the story can be summed up in about two lines. Two cops form a team to fight the underworld. Then at some point their objective gets muddled by corruption and they take separate paths. The story never moves beyond that. In fact, right at the end, it just pauses as if you’d pressed the pause button on your DVD to perhaps visit the loo. And the credits start rolling.



The cinematography team of the film it seems had a competition on who could think of the weirdest places to set the camera. So you have cameras inside tea cups, glasses, cooking pans and cricket balls. The result is a total lack of visual coherence in the film. Same goes for performances by most of the cast except Sanjay Dutt and Amitabh Bachchan. While the others try to act, Dutt and Mr Bachchan perform with conviction. To the extent that Mr Bachchan gives a fantastic performance, thereby creating a stark contrast between the quality of the film and its seasoned actors.

 

If the visuals don’t get you, the blaringly loud background score is sure to get your attention. And then you have to deal with other miscellaneous cinematic liberties that are far from comfortable. Bad guys can’t shoot to save their lives but good guys shoot bullets like robots. The item number gets as lewd as lewd can be. And random actors decide to ham like there is no tomorrow. Department can easily be called an assault on your senses. Why Mr Bachchan chose to give such a fine performance in such a goulash of silliness shall remain a great mystery in the annals of the history of cinema.