Nenjile Nenjile by Shankar Mahadevan, Gopi Sunder, Aleetta Dennis

Some songs are made for a single moment. Nenjile Nenjile is made for all of them. Credit goes to Gopi Sunder for a score that understands exactly what the song needs and nothing more.

Shankar Mahadevan, Gopi Sunder, Aleetta Dennis's vocal here has a quality that is difficult to describe but impossible to miss — it simply feels true. On screen, Nivin Pauly, Nikki Galrani bring the emotional world of the song to life in a way that enhances rather than competes with the music.

The song dates from 2020, but nothing about it sounds dated — the emotions it captures are not tied to a moment. There is no right time to listen to Nenjile Nenjile. There is only the moment you press play and realise it was the right choice.

The 4:48 runtime feels perfectly judged — long enough to develop its ideas, short enough to compel a second play. For anyone yet to hear Nenjile Nenjile, the experience ahead is a good one. For those returning, it will be as good as they remember.