Mazha Thodaa by Nikhil Mathew

Mazha Thodaa is the kind of song that earns its place in a playlist and then refuses to leave. Rahul Raj built the instrumental foundation carefully here — every element earns its place in the mix.

The voice of Nikhil Mathew carries Mazha Thodaa effortlessly, which is the highest compliment a song can give its singer. Rahul Madhav, Sijoy Varghese, Rahul Dev Shetty, Mamtha Mohandas, Neha Saxena, Nandini Rai gave the film its soul, and Mazha Thodaa is the song that most directly channels that feeling into music.

By the end of 2020, Mazha Thodaa had moved well beyond its original audience and into everyday playlists. The emotional register of Mazha Thodaa is wide enough to fit celebration and solitude equally well.

At 3:53, the track does not overstay its welcome — it says what it needs to say and leaves the listener wanting more. It is, at the end of it, a very good song — and sometimes that is the only explanation that matters.