Naruviralal Manalil by Sibu Sukumaran, K.B. Unnikrishnan

Naruviralal Manalil works because it does not try to do too much — it finds one feeling and holds it perfectly. The production by Sibu Sukumaran, K.B. Unnikrishnan is understated in the best way — supportive without overshadowing the vocal.

There are singers who perform songs and singers who live inside them. On Naruviralal Manalil, Sibu Sukumaran, K.B. Unnikrishnan clearly belongs in the second group. The connection between a talented ensemble cast and this song is part of what makes it resonate beyond the film itself.

Released in 2020, it arrived at a time when Malayalam music needed exactly this kind of sincerity. Listeners have described the experience of Naruviralal Manalil differently — romantic, melancholic, uplifting — which suggests the song is large enough to hold many truths.

The concision of Naruviralal Manalil — just 5:17 — 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.