I am one of the members of the niche target market for Madhur Bhandarkar´s Satta: The Game of Power, his second foray into the arena of direction. Having witnessed the director´s hard-hitting Chandni Bar - a thinking man´s film - there are few chances I will miss the first weekend of the film´s theatrical release. But Chandni Bar was a songless flick, the tunes therein rightfully relegated to the background score, which served only as environmental accompaniment. Why a politically set movie like Satta needs songs, I do not know. Raju Singh (whose previous albums ´Tum Yaad Aaye´, ´Piya Basanti´, score for ´Chandni Bar´ and soundtrack for ´Paagalpan´ were all great) works pretty well here with Javed Akhtar, but the purpose of the soundtrack is still a mystery.

The start of the ´power struggle´ is marked by Asha Bhosle´s "Gungunati Hai". And the end of the album is supported by Sonu Nigam´s rendition of the same supple tune. It´s a warm and comforting track that relies on numerous interludes of singular instruments to carry it through. For your ears and mine, it is a simple enough drift in the clouds.

Shaan and Madhushree´s "Jab Dil Mile" actually begins with a "Gungunati Hai" interlude, but then meanders on to its own unique music. The singing is not bad, tolerable even, but Javed Akhtar disappoints with his Sameer-like lyrics. "Jab dil mile, dilon ko kya mila..."? Come on Akhtar-saab, you ought to be able to do better than that in your sleep. Sadly, there´s nothing novel about the thoughts or the words in this one.

Shankar Mahadevan´s "Masti Hi Masti" is a fun and peppy club-bish endeavour, but not that much different from what we´ve heard the singer do before. Clinton and Vivienne Pocha lend their vocals to the background, but if the music is lifted from an English dance track as my younger brother claims, I´m sadly disappointed with Mr. Singh.

"More Saiyyan" is Raju Singh´s attempt at fusing techno with folk, using Asha Bhosle´s playback to lead the brigade. Problem is that the track starts with a forceful, cool techno beat, which is quickly relegated to the background for a stronger boring folk influence. Asha´s uninspired singing for the song - hopefully a sign of disinterest - does not help much.

I´m a sucker for inspiring ´life´s a challenge´ themed tunes. Rare to find listeners who enjoy "Zindagi Har Kadam" (Meri Jung), "Kab Se Main Hoon Khari" (Mrityu Dand) and "Dil Tera Kisne Tora" (Dayavan) as much as I still do, but all of these are truly wonderful aural experiences. Each relies heavily upon complex and meaningful verses about humanity and life, but also offers us a chance to think about more than the typical romance tracks Bollywood´s assembly lines deliver each hour. Shubha Mudgal´s "Jeevan Path Mein Mor Hain Kitne" has just been added to my list of the great songs about mankind. It uses Mudgal´s harsh vocals to perfect effect. As I said earlier, I doubt you´ll love this well-crafted song as much as I do, but do give it a try.

I´m glad there are a limited number of songs in Madhur Bhandarkar´s Satta. But I´ll be happier if some of the mediocre tracks don´t make it on to the screen. Having heard the soundtrack carefully, there´s little doubt that some of these compositions belong in the movie, but if it distracts from the narrative pace, the target audience will be disappointed. Please don´t disappoint us, Mr. Bhandarkar.