Sankalppa by Padmini Menon

There is an honesty to Sankalppa that separates it from most Malayalam songs released around the same time. Credit goes to Sajeevkumar Palakkal for a score that understands exactly what the song needs and nothing more.

The performance by Padmini Menon is the centrepiece here — controlled where it needs to be, open where it counts. The chemistry of a talented ensemble cast is embedded in every moment of Sankalppa, making it as much a performance as a song.

The 2020 release gave fans something to hold onto — a track built for repeated listening rather than a single play. The emotional register of Sankalppa is wide enough to fit celebration and solitude equally well.

The concision of Sankalppa — just 4:53 — is part of what makes it work. There is nothing here that should not be. It is, simply, one of the better songs to come from Malayalam in recent memory — and the numbers agree.