Music Director: Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy, Justin-Uday and Sandesh Shandilya
Lyricists: Prasoon Joshi, Neelesh Misra and Kumaar
Singers; Shankar Mahadevan, KK, Yash Narvekar, Hrishikesh Kamerkar, Mehrajuddin, Shilpa Rao, Hamsika Iyer, Anusha Mani and Mohit Chauhan
Rating: **1/2

Director Piyush Jha's "Sikandar" has a soundtrack that has woven together different influences - Sufi, folk and even soft rock - as it brings together several composers and lyricists.

Produced by Sudhir Mishra, "Sikandar" is set in Kashmir and stars Sanjay Suri, R. Madhavan and child actors Parzaan Dastur and Ayesha Kapur. The film's music is definitely impressive but only in parts.

"Allah hoo", a song with a Sufi flavour composed by Justin-Uday, is sung well by Yash Narvekar and Hrishikesh Kamerkar. The track has its promising moments but can get quite monotonous.

Up next is "Arzoo" rendered by Mehrajuddin. More of a poetic narration than a song, it has negligent musical arrangements.

Crooned by Kamerkar and Hamsika Iyer is "Chaal apni", which is a decent hear. The playful song has been composed by Justin-Uday and penned by Kumaar. With a folk feel to it, this melodious number is quite hummable.

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy have created a terrific track in "Dhoop ke sikke". Anushka Mani gives ample support to Shankar Mahadevan in this song, which is an amalgamation of Indian and Western influences. Prasoon Joshi has written some beautiful words for the track, which has the signature stamp of the composer trio on it.

"Gulon Mein" has two versions. The serene one has soft rock style of music arrangements and has Mohit Chauhan behind the mike. Justin-Uday prove their capability with this number that is free flowing and soothing to the ears.

The upbeat version created by composer Sandesh Shandilya and sung by KK is peppier. KK does a great job with the vocals and this can easily be called the best track in the album.

The next song is "Manzaraat", which is quite low on melody. The only thing going for this track is the vocals by Shilpa Rao. Despite being high on beats, "Manzaraat" may not impress too many listeners.

On the whole, while a few numbers of "Sikandar" are really good, the others fall flat. It fails to live up to the great music one usually gets to hear in Sudhir Misra's films.