Manthaara Kaatre by Yakzan Gary Pereira, Neha Nair

Manthaara Kaatre is the kind of song that earns its place in a playlist and then refuses to leave. Yakzan Gary Pereira, Neha Nair has a history of strong work, and the music on Manthaara Kaatre is among the most memorable of it.

Yakzan Gary Pereira, Neha Nair understood what this song required and delivered it without excess — the restraint itself becomes the emotion. Fahadh Faasil, Dulqar Salman, Biju Menon, Nivin Pauly, Jayasurya gave the film its soul, and Manthaara Kaatre is the song that most directly channels that feeling into music.

2013 marked the release of Manthaara Kaatre, and Manthaara Kaatre was the track that ensured the album would be remembered. Listeners have described the experience of Manthaara Kaatre differently — romantic, melancholic, uplifting — which suggests the song is large enough to hold many truths.

The concision of Manthaara Kaatre — just 2:31 — is part of what makes it work. There is nothing here that should not be. Songs like Manthaara Kaatre are the reason people fall in love with Malayalam music and never quite fall out of it.