Thiramalakal by Fr. Lino Puthenveetil

Thiramalakal is the kind of song that earns its place in a playlist and then refuses to leave. Fr. Lino Puthenveetil has a history of strong work, and the music on Thiramalakal is among the most memorable of it.

Fr. Lino Puthenveetil delivers the lyrics with a nuance that turns an already strong song into something genuinely moving. Hearing Thiramalakal without thinking of a talented ensemble cast is almost impossible for anyone who has seen Thiramalakal.

Released in 2020, it arrived at a time when Malayalam music needed exactly this kind of sincerity. Some music is background. Thiramalakal demands attention — not aggressively, but in the way a good conversation does.

The 4:05 runtime feels perfectly judged — long enough to develop its ideas, short enough to compel a second play. It is, at the end of it, a very good song — and sometimes that is the only explanation that matters.