Department review

1 / 5

Ram Gopal Varma had proudly proclaimed a few days back that he has made a lot of technical innovations in his latest movie ‘Department’ and that he had used cameras in all odd places like the carom board striker, coffee spoon, car steering etc. Is ‘Department’ just a hollow vessel with only the aforementioned technical gimmicks or is there some stuff as well? Read on to find out.

In a nutshell, this movie is about a separate department within the police force that is given all the powers to fight Mumbai’s two primary gangster units (Sawatya’s and Mohammad Gauri’s). This department is basically an encounter squad and all the stakeholders in this department have gray shades be it Sarjerao Gaikwad, a gangster-turned politician (played by the Big B) or Inspector Mahadev Bhosle, the leader of this department squad (played by Sanjay Dutt). An honest young cop Shivnarayan (Rana) is also part of this squad and he learns the tricks of the department as the movie wears on. Whether the prime gangsters are brought to task and whether Shiv manages to retain his honesty is the remaining part of the movie.

The only entertaining aspect of ‘Department’ is the Big B’s electric screen presence, voice modulation and inimitable style. The screen sparkles whenever he is there. Rana looks the part convincingly as the rugged cop though his emoting skills are better left unanalyzed. There are blatant changes in Sanjay Dutt’s looks during the course of the movie. He is seen with a baseball cap for the majority of the movie while his hair suddenly appears thick in certain scenes and barren in other scenes. Guess, his hair transplant coincided with this movie’s shooting days. Madhu Shalini looks seducing as the female gangster while her muse in the movie, Abhimanyu Singh is a mere caricature compared to his terrific show in Raktha Charitra. Vijay Raaz is a natural in whatever role he does and it’s the same here too as Sawatya. Anjana Sukhani and Lakshmi Manchu have miniscule parts as the wives of the lead cops

There is a very crude item number in the first half inspired by Ilayaraja’s yesteryear chartbuster. The picturization of this song will make even the young male members in the audience squirm in their seats. Such is the level of skin shown in this song.  There are 2 other songs which do nothing to the movie’s flow.

The previously mentioned technical gimmicks with the camera are nothing but indulgences on RGV’s part. It’s just a case of an empty vessel making more noise. The frequent close-ups, jump cuts, pans, tracks, tilts, zooms etc. get to your head pretty soon.

To conclude, Department is a pretty boring movie save for the Big B’s presence

VERDICT: Another hollow offering from Ram Gopal Varma 

Agneepath movie review

A remake of the 1990s movie of the same name. The treatment is also outdated. The only pluses are Hrithik Roshan's incredible looks and screen presence, Ajay-Atul's songs and the rich production design and sets.

It's a typical revenge saga and a blood bath. Vijay has to avenge the death of his father Master Deenanath Chauhan who is killed brutally by Kancha in front of the entire village (Mandwa) because Kancha's ways are opposed by the Master.

After 15 yrs Vijay completes his life's mission of revenge and joins his father in the afterlife. There is a love track, lots of blood, songs, an honest policeman, a corrupt politician, mother/sister sentiment and another gangster in the form of Rauf Lala who opposes Kancha. Stale remake.

Review

• The success of this movie proves that Bollywood is mostly just about a big hero, lots of hype, an item number and very little stuff. Sad state of affairs. Our audience is still welcoming such stale affairs purely believing the hype. Ra.One and now Agneepath, didn't deserve big success. 
• Sanjay Dutt looks seriously scary and overacts at times. Rishi Kapoor is a surprise casting in a negative role. Priyanka Chopra stands beside her man and looks pretty. She emotes well in one dragging scene prior to her marriage and death. Katrina Kaif dances as if she is possessed by a dancing spirit. Chikni Chameli rocks purely as a music video. The sister looks pretty and has some sister sentiment scenes with the Greek God. Om Puri is earnest as always. 
• Too much religious flavor in the songs. The music of the movie is a major plus though. 

VERDICT

Outdated revenge saga and a bloodbath at that. A movie that didn't deserve success. Our audience has been cheated by marketing hype once again. Sad!!!

Desi Boyz (2011)

It is recession time in London in the year 2009 and 2 'cheddi' buddies Jerry and Nick lose their jobs. Nick has a demanding girlfriend Radhika to maintain while Jerry needs to take care of his sister's orphaned son Veer. They are desperate to find a job but don't find any. Then they come to know of 'desi boyz', a service where hunky handsome men escort and satisfy women with varying needs.

They make money, satisfy many desperate women but soon they lose Radhika (breakup) and Veer to a foster home, respectively. Nick convinces Radhika after persisting for long. Jerry goes back to college, graduates, finds his lady love, convinces the social services department and wins back Jerry. The movie ends with the premise for a sequel in Mumbai.

Hits

• Both the handsome hunks play to their strengths. John Abraham flaunts his body and his looks while Akshay flaunts his energy, charm and comic sense. The lead ladies are hot as well, Deepika Padukone and Chitrangada Singh. They match their Hollywood counterparts in style. The movie has gloss written all over. 
• Nice peppy songs by Pritam. 
• Light hearted movie. Good for killing some time. 

Comments

• The movie has 2 cameos by Sanjay Dutt and Omi Vaidya. While Sanjay is macho, Omi irritates with his gayish style. Anupam Kher plays another of his innumerable so-called funny roles. 
• The college romance scenes between Akshay and Chitrangada are similar to Main Hoon Na

VERDICT

Light hearted time pass movie with the 'male escorts' theme being particularly entertaining.