Aaraanu by Keshav Vinod

There is an honesty to Aaraanu that separates it from most Malayalam songs released around the same time. Keshav Vinod, Yakzan Gary Pereira, Neha S Nair's arrangement gives the track a layered quality that rewards repeated listening.

Keshav Vinod's vocal here has a quality that is difficult to describe but impossible to miss — it simply feels true. The chemistry of a talented ensemble cast is embedded in every moment of Aaraanu, making it as much a performance as a song.

2023 marked the release of Aaraanu, and Aaraanu was the track that ensured the album would be remembered. The emotional register of Aaraanu is wide enough to fit celebration and solitude equally well.

The concision of Aaraanu — just 3:09 — is part of what makes it work. There is nothing here that should not be. The track stands as evidence that Keshav Vinod and Keshav Vinod, Yakzan Gary Pereira, Neha S Nair, working together, are capable of something well above the ordinary.