Director Ram Gopal Varma has trumped his own record of poor first-day collection in Patna with his latest flick, Department.

Superstars Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt were not able to better the director’s fortunes, whose new film was severely panned by fans in Patna. While his last directorial venture, Not a Love Story, collected Rs 3,60,478 on its first day last year, Department collected Rs 2,01,300 on Friday.

The film is being screened at Regent (four shows), Mona (2) and Cinepolis (10).

Rajendra Nagar resident Ajay Kumar Singh, who saw the film at Regent, said: “Big B as a gangster-turned-politician is nothing more than a comic character. The characters of Sanjay Dutt and Rana Daggubati as encounter cops are not realistic. I always had high regard for this director who has made excellent films like Company and Sarkar. But after Department, I have to think twice before watching his films in the future.”

Regent owner Suman Kumar Sinha was also disappointed at Department’s first-day show. At one of the four shows, only 400 people turned up against a seating capacity for 700. “I do not know the reason for the poor footfall. But it is shocking to see that a film starring Bachchan and Dutt has received such a cold response.”