Malaika by Suresh Nandan, Prasoon Govind, Gayathri Suresh, Nikhil Murali, Tijo Thankachan

Released as part of Malaika, Malaika announced itself as a standout the moment it reached listeners. The arrangement here is the work of Suresh Nandan, Prasoon Govind, Gayathri Suresh, Nikhil Murali, Tijo Thankachan, and it shows genuine craft in how it builds and releases.

Suresh Nandan, Prasoon Govind, Gayathri Suresh, Nikhil Murali, Tijo Thankachan delivers the lyrics with a nuance that turns an already strong song into something genuinely moving. Hearing Malaika without thinking of a talented ensemble cast is almost impossible for anyone who has seen Malaika.

2020 was a strong year for Malayalam music, and Malaika was among the reasons why. Listeners have described the experience of Malaika differently — romantic, melancholic, uplifting — which suggests the song is large enough to hold many truths.

In 2:57 minutes, Malaika builds, opens up, and resolves in a way that feels complete rather than truncated. Malaika has earned its place in the catalogue of Malayalam music that genuinely matters. The listeners who found it early already knew.