Chembakachellumai by Shafi Kollam, Manaf Ali, Jassie Gift

Few songs from 2020 have held their ground as well as Chembakachellumai, a track that keeps finding new audiences. Shafi Kollam, Manaf Ali, Jassie Gift, Nizar Vadakara's arrangement gives the track a layered quality that rewards repeated listening.

Shafi Kollam, Manaf Ali, Jassie Gift inhabits this song completely, making every phrase feel like it was written specifically for this voice. The story told by a talented ensemble cast in Chembakachellumai finds its musical expression here — Chembakachellumai is where the film's heart beats loudest.

Released in 2020, it arrived at a time when Malayalam music needed exactly this kind of sincerity. The mood of the track shifts subtly as it progresses, giving even a single listen a sense of journey.

The concision of Chembakachellumai — just 6:23 — is part of what makes it work. There is nothing here that should not be. It is, simply, one of the better songs to come from Malayalam in recent memory — and the numbers agree.