Remember Satya, for which a full-fledged background score was launched after its release? The soundtrack went on to be a benchmark for many a movie to follow, especially the underworld flicks. Dark, grim, haunting, exciting - these are some of the terms that best describe a background score of a RGV movie based on crime and drama. ' Sarkar ', a RGV film that has Amitabh Bachchan as the chief protagonist with Abhishek Bachchan, Kay Kay, Katrina Kaif, Tanisha and Rukhsar in principal roles (in addition to other RGV regulars), releases this week with a near parallel music release. As expected, it is no ordinary compilation that traditionally has 5 songs and 3 instrumentals and remixes of the same. Instead, for a music lover fond of background and theme music, comes up a double whammy in the form of 2 CD pack that has in total an astonishing 35 (yes, you read it right) tracks .

CD 1 - Sarkar (Govinda album)

Music: Bapi-Tutul
Lyrics - Sandeep Nath

First CD comprises of some situational songs and scenes that give a clear indication of how the plot in the movie progresses. Breathtaking chant of ' Govinda Govinda ' haunts at the very start of the album rendered with a punch by Kailash Kher, Bapi and Tutul. More than the ' shlokas ' that come from a distant background intermittently, it is the rendition of ' Govinda Govinda ' that make a stunning impact. Big B's narration of his punch line ' Mujhe jo Sahi Lagta Hai ' sets the arrogance and confidence of the character quite well in this opening statement that also appears in more retroversion ' Govinda Beat '.

Chorus by Cine Singers' association do their very own version of 'Govinda' in ' The Govinda Omen ' and turns the track so haunting that it could be well utilized for an 'Evil Dead' series. Be careful not to be alone while hearing this piece in the dead of the night. To subdue the scary feel comes in the techno version of the same track as ' Govinda Trance ' that is purely based on western instrumentals still keeping the overall rhythm intact. This time around Jankee Parikh joins the chants of ' Govinda Govinda ' along with Bapi and Tutul.

' Sam Dam Dand Bhed ' continues in the similar vein that has Kailash Kher mouthing a few lines in the background, but it is primarily the continued rendition of ' Sam Dam ' that is prominent throughout the 3 minutes duration. ' Shaher Shaher Ke Hazaron Sawal ' is another heavily orchestrated piece that begins with Kailash Kher establishing the character of the lead protagonist further. But a few seconds later, this piece too joins the ' Govinda Govinda ' stream. At this point of time, it does look like a bit of overkill (audio-wise) but reaffirms one thing - 'Sarkar' would be a movie to watch out if the background music is any indication to go by.

' Jaisi Duniya Hai - Waisi Sarkar Hai ' - that's the statement that catches your attention in the track ' Jitni Oonchaiyan ' by Krishna and Farhad. Composed by Prasanna Shekhar and written by Sarim Momin, the song is primarily composed to establish the 'need' of the kind of 'Sarkar' the way it is! A situational piece again, it is not meant to be lip-synced by anyone on the screen but would be used mainly as an ultra-short background piece. Ditto for ' The Want For Power Cacophony ', that has the same team working together on a similar theme.

Padmashree Rita Ganguly begins the first ever "song" in the album. Based on Indian classical music, ' Deen Bandhu ' is based on the theme of a painful wait and is supported by a haunting flute throughout. This track should freeze the frames and set everyone involved with the feelings of the narrative on the silver screen. Such is the impact of the music by Bapi-Tutul that there is an instrumental of this situational piece ( Deen Bandhu Theme ) also dedicated soon after.

CD 2 - The Power of Sarkar

As the title of this CD clearly indicates, this compilation of 25 background pieces is primarily an assortment of situational background pieces that accompany every major scene in the movie. The listing of all the tracks is also in the same way (though not necessarily in a chronological order). Simple scenes like ' Rashid Comes For Tea', 'The Killing Of Khurana', 'Shankar Rises', 'Villains Jubilant ' etc. have been brought alive on audio through some brilliantly executed orchestra by prolific musician Amar Mohile, who specializes in doing background scores.

Though each of the scenes have also been titled with an actual dialogue on the album cover, one would not necessarily want to follow each and every label while hearing the CD. The usage of instruments is consistent across the album and it's a standard mood that is created in the audio. The feel of the entire 1 hour 12 minutes of this background score is dark, grim and attention grabbing and hence one would want to close the eyes and listen to the album in entirety with lights off rather than getting distracted by lifting the album cover and checking for the actual scene to which a particular music belongs.

Those who are fond of background music pieces and want to appreciate the nuances of attaching music to a scene would like this particular portion of the musical score of ‘Sarkar'. An ideal case study for those researching on learning the ropes of direction and music making.

In nutshell the music of ' Sarkar ' proves the fact once again that regardless of the box office diktats and star presence, RGV has always believed in coming up with something 'different' in each project of his. With a pairing of Abhishek and Katrina, he could have easily fallen into the trap of at least one romantic duet. But as always, he listens to his gut feel and instead ropes in the likes of Bapi-Tutul and Amar Mohile to deliver what makes sense to ' Sarkar ' project as a whole.

After ' Black ' early this year, the background compilation of ' Sarkar ' too would go down as a terrific theme music compilation.

Rating: ***