Nanniyode Njan Stuthi Paadidum by Elizabeth S. Mathew

Nanniyode Njan Stuthi Paadidum is the kind of song that earns its place in a playlist and then refuses to leave. P.G.Abraham Padinjarethalackal sets the tone from the very first bar — it is clear from the opening notes that this song means business.

Elizabeth S. Mathew understood what this song required and delivered it without excess — the restraint itself becomes the emotion. The connection between a talented ensemble cast and this song is part of what makes it resonate beyond the film itself.

2020 marked the release of Nanniyode Njan Stuthi Paadidum, and Nanniyode Njan Stuthi Paadidum was the track that ensured the album would be remembered. It fits the playlist for almost any occasion, which is rare — most songs have a narrow emotional window. This one does not.

The concision of Nanniyode Njan Stuthi Paadidum — just 5:51 — is part of what makes it work. There is nothing here that should not be. It is, at the end of it, a very good song — and sometimes that is the only explanation that matters.