Mazhanila by Bijibal, Najeem Arshad, Sowmya Ramakrishnan

There is an honesty to Mazhanila that separates it from most Malayalam songs released around the same time. Bijibal sets the tone from the very first bar — it is clear from the opening notes that this song means business.

The vocal on Mazhanila is among the better performances Bijibal, Najeem Arshad, Sowmya Ramakrishnan has committed to record. Hearing Mazhanila without thinking of Dulqar Salman, Unni Mukundan, Anoop Menonn is almost impossible for anyone who has seen Mazhanila.

2014 marked the release of Mazhanila, and Mazhanila was the track that ensured the album would be remembered. Listeners have described the experience of Mazhanila differently — romantic, melancholic, uplifting — which suggests the song is large enough to hold many truths.

The concision of Mazhanila — just 3:58 — is part of what makes it work. There is nothing here that should not be. The track stands as evidence that Bijibal, Najeem Arshad, Sowmya Ramakrishnan and Bijibal, working together, are capable of something well above the ordinary.