Kalla Kannu by Bharath Sajikumar

There is an honesty to Kalla Kannu that separates it from most Malayalam songs released around the same time. The music, composed by Shaiju Avaran, carries the song forward with a confidence that matches the performance.

The vocal on Kalla Kannu is among the better performances Bharath Sajikumar has committed to record. The song is tied to Mani K Ayyappan, Ragenth Raveendran, whose presence gives Kalla Kannu a visual dimension that fans of the film will always associate with it.

Released in 2020, it arrived at a time when Malayalam music needed exactly this kind of sincerity. Kalla Kannu is the song for the end of a long day when you want music that understands something without being asked to explain it.

Running to 3:20, the song is exactly as long as it needs to be, which is the hardest length for a songwriter to find. Kalla Kannu has earned its place in the catalogue of Malayalam music that genuinely matters. The listeners who found it early already knew.