Enthoram by Najim Arshad

Not every song from Enthoram lingers, but Enthoram is the one that stays. Behind the melody is the work of Arun Raj, whose composition choices give Enthoram its distinctive texture.

Every line Najim Arshad sings feels considered, as though the performance was thought through long before recording began. The story told by Dhruvan, Vishnu Unnikrishnan, Sharaf U Dheen, Gayathri Suresh, Manasa Radhakrishnan, Soumya Menon in Enthoram finds its musical expression here — Enthoram is where the film's heart beats loudest.

2019 was a strong year for Malayalam music, and Enthoram was among the reasons why. Whether it plays on a long drive, during a quiet evening at home, or through earphones on a crowded commute, the song meets the listener where they are.

Running to 4:11, the song is exactly as long as it needs to be, which is the hardest length for a songwriter to find. Enthoram endures because it was built on feeling rather than formula — and that is the one thing streaming numbers cannot manufacture.