Hindi
Yet another disappointment from RGV
MUMBAI: When Ram Gopal Varma makes a film, one is a bit sceptical. He has not made a sensible film in a long time after all! When you go to a movie expecting nothing, you do usually come out happier than if you expected a masterpiece.
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Producer: Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, Uberoi Line Productions. |
This, however, is not the case with Department, the latest Ram Gopal Varma film. One does go in expecting nothing but one comes out exasperated and mentally fatigued. Department is an exercise in senility: it tries your patience, it tests your nerves and it challenges your sensibilities. After a run time of 2 hours 13 minutes, you come out not knowing who was who in the film, what his motives were and, to top it all, you are threatened with a sequel!
There are some cops on a killing spree in order to get the better of the underworld. Rana Daggubati, one of them, is singled out for suspension for being trigger-happy. The other one, Sanjay Dutt, knows to hide his tracks well. Since there is too much of underworld, some unknown and unexplained face decides to form a special task force called Department, which will not be answerable to anyone and which will not exist on paper.
But, this being a Ram Gopal Varma film, all and sundry know of its existence the moment it is formed. That includes a crazy looking Mumbai don, Vijay Raaz, and a secretive Dubai-based kingpin, Ghouri Mohammed. Rana and Dutt both embark on a shooting spree killing some random faces to reach Vijay Raaz. The charade goes on until a little before the interval, when Amitabh Bachchan makes his entry. He is an idiosyncratic character who ties a small bell to his wrist and has a weird story to tell about it which he never really tells. He is some sort of a minister who pulls all the strings even as he behaves like he is off his rocker. He is a don turned politician after attaining sakashtkar under Dharavi Bridge.
The Department, which is a small band of shooters, soon has different sponsors. Sanjay Dutt obeys the faceless don in Dubai, Rana listens to Amitabh Bachchan and the rest, including Deepak Tijori are incidental.
Having killed most of the Mumbai underworld, the Department heroes end up killing each other: long live the Don in Dubai; he is spared for Department 2 if you care.
Department has a sequence of events but no cohesive script. Ram Gopal Varma grossly misuses his artistes and takes the audience for granted. He makes this narration into a perfect torture device. Dialogue is pedestrian. Music is irrelevant and forced. Ram Gopal’s experiment with student cinematographers becomes a joke as he goes overboard. Editing is nonexistent.
As for performances, only Rana Daggubati looks sincere. Amitabh Bachchan’s character and getup are designed to make an impact; all they do is make him look like a psycho. Sanjay Dutt is his usual self. Vijay Raaz is unlike any don one has known or heard of. The characters of Abhimanyu Singh and his girl, Madhu Shalini, border on insane. This bunch shows the maker’s taste for the macabre.
Department is a rank bad film with poor box office prospects.
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Lacklustre scripting, doomed to go unnoticed |
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Producer: Chandra Pemmaraju. |
Love Lies And Seeta (English with few Hindi dialogue) is directed by Chandra Pemmaraju, who clearly has a passion for filmmaking. An Indian-American, his two earlier shorts have been a part of various film festivals. The film is a shoestring-budget love story about an Indian-origin girl, Seeta (Melanie Kannokada, a former Miss India America), and three boys who fall in love with her.
The boys, Arjun Gupta, Levrenti Lopes and Michael Derek, are all students who vie with each other to win Seeta’s love and attention. They get into a silent war of deception amongst them, which verges on violence. Seeta dates all three simultaneously which further adds to the misunderstandings among the boys.
Seeta, who was adopted as a child by an American couple, seeks counsel from her father, Rob Byrnes, after which she decides to tell all three boys that she likes them as friends but is not in love with any of them. She also discovers her true love in Ryan Vigilant, with whom she had played in her childhood and who has been in love with her since then. Seeta also has her two close friends who are nursing a silent love for two of the boys but can’t open up since the boys are in love with Seeta. Eventually, all end up getting their partners.
Chandra Pemmaraju chooses the New York summer as the backdrop of his narration and presents some pleasant visuals of the New York landscape. The drawback is with his scripting which is like oral storytelling and is slow without dramatics. Music is apt and soothing.
Love Lies And Seeta, released without any sort of promotion, is fated to pass unnoticed.
Hindi
Rajesh Ramaswamy exits The Script Room to focus on filmmaking journey
Ad filmmaker steps away from own venture to pursue direction and storytelling
MUMBAI: In a move that has caught the attention of the advertising and creative community, Rajesh Ramaswamy has announced his exit from The Script Room, the company he co-founded, marking the end of a seven-year stint at the helm.
The decision, which came into effect earlier this month, signals a shift in focus for Ramaswamy, who is now looking to immerse himself fully in filmmaking and direction as an independent creative.
Known for blending sharp advertising insight with storytelling craft, Ramaswamy has been instrumental in shaping The Script Room into a creative hub that delivered campaigns, branded content, and original storytelling formats. Over the years, the company collaborated with agencies, directors, and a wide network of writers, while also experimenting with formats such as short films and web series.
Sharing his thoughts on the transition, Ramaswamy indicated that the move is driven by a desire to focus and explore stories he has been developing over time. While he acknowledged the unconventional nature of stepping away from one’s own venture, he also framed it as a necessary leap toward clarity and creative pursuit.
Importantly, The Script Room will continue its operations with its current team and leadership, with Ramaswamy expressing confidence in the group that helped build the company’s identity. The studio, he noted, remains well-positioned to evolve further with fresh talent and ideas.
His exit also reflects a wider industry trend, where experienced advertising professionals are increasingly transitioning into independent filmmaking, tapping into the growing opportunities across digital and long-form content platforms.
As Ramaswamy steps into this new phase, the move underscores a familiar creative instinct, sometimes, the boldest ideas begin with a clean break.
