Ramu’s 'Department' opens dull at box office

Ram Gopal Varma’s new film Department has been described by critics as a recipe for headache. In corroboration to these reviews, the film has opened to a very dull start at box office.

The lukewarm response despite the stellar star cast consisting of Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt and Rana Daggubati did take the trade by surprise. The film saw an audience response ranging between 10 to 15 percent with the first-day collection of around Rs. 2.25 crore, according to early estimates.

Going by this figure, the movie would need a magical turnaround in its collections on Saturday and Sunday to make an impact at box office. The negative reviews and discouraging word of mouth will surely not help to that end.

The other release of Friday, Mr. Bhatti On Chutti was a washout with the audience response ranging between 0 to 5 percent. The film starring Anupam Kher and Bhairavi Goswami has got thumbs down from critics as well.

Meanwhile, last week’s release Ishaqzaade is going strong at box office. In fact, it might even have a better second weekend collection than the first weekend collection of Department. The film is headed for a HIT status.

The next Friday would see the release of a slew of small-budget films. The next big Bollywood release would be Rowdy Rathore on June 1.