Madhur Bhandarkar is back after Chandani bar. This time he has made an bold atempt by taking the political tussel as the theme pf the movie. The film begins by introducing the protagonist, Anuradha Sehgal (Raveena Tandon) - a middle class woman bent on defying her destiny and rising in wealth and prominence. Working at a public relations firm, she meets Vivek Chauhan (Samir Dharmadhikari) - the young heir of one of the most prominent political family-machines in Mumbai. Perhaps due to genuine affection, perhaps due to a latent burning ambition, Anuradha marries Vivek. Shortly after marriage, however, Vivek is implicated and found guilty of murder and sentenced to years behind bars. In the confusion that follows Anuradha, under the wing of political advisor Yeshwant (Atul Kulkarni), takes over the political career of her imprisoned husband.

Almost all of Satta's characters are as real as the coarse landscape on which they are imposed. Every character has a mind of his of her own, everyone has personal goals and practical ambitions, and there are very few characters of the stereotypical, unflinchingly upright mould that we have come to expect from our films. It is unquestionably difficult to keep three-dimensional characters constant enough to make them manageably predictable and endearing within the short timeframe of a film's duration – but Satta manages to do so exceptionally well.

The writing behind the central role in the film merits special mention. Anuradha's rise to grace and subsequent fall from the same is superbly crafted, and unfolds on screen in a fashion akin to classical tragedy. In many ways, Anuradha is a brilliantly written tragic heroine characterized by fiery dedication to her own definition of greatness and a fatal flaw that costs her the very achievements she so willfully struggles for. Fiercely determined but unflinchingly devoted to her own sense of middle class morality, Anuradha is easily one the best written female characters to have ever graced the Hindi screen.Even yet, despite the quality of the plot and characterization, it's possible that the filmmaking itself is the reason for Satta's greatness. 

Satta's celluloid world moves at its own unrelenting pace, hurtling restlessly towards the fate that awaits protagonist Anuradha Sehgal. The sublime direction never lets up its unyielding pace, the editing is both masterfully effective and aesthetically inspiring, and the musical score is deftly transposed on the simplistic, stark visuals of the film. The atmosphere achieved by some of the shots in this film is truly noteworthy; Bhandarkar's sparing use of lightning, for example, makes his sets as dark as the undertone of the film. And all of this is topped off with performances that can only be described as outstanding. Bhandarkar has acquired a reputation for extracting great work from his performers, and the work in this film can only confirm that record. It's no wonder top-notch performers are willing to go out of their way to sign his upcoming directorial ventures.

Raveena is beautiful as Anuradha. She relates a whole gamut of emotions almost flawlessly, and comes off as a complete natural in nearly every frame of the film in which she appears. Even her body language and mannerisms are spot-on accurate without looking rehearsed. Stage actor Atul Kulkarni matches Ms. Tandon step for step. His surprising role here is extremely well-acted, and after superlative turns in great films like Hey! Ram, Kulkarni continues to solidify his reputation as an incredibly gifted actor. Supporting actors are strong all around. Samir Dharmadhikari is confident in his debut. His role is relatively minor, but he makes a fairly strong account of himself. Vallabh Vyas as Anuradha's father-in-law Mahendra Chauhan is full of sincerity, and manages to stand out amongst the gamut of great performers.

Flaws undoubtedly exist, but only add up to a short laundry list of minor complaints in an otherwise solid film. Bhandarkar's script becomes quite complicated and a bit drawn out by the time the climax rolls around, and its resolution requires a degree of disbelief on the part of audiences. It is quite obvious from the overall quality of this work that Bhandarkar had a real cinematic vision when he set out to make this film; he had a genuine desire to tell a story and realize an idea.