Thora Mazha Pole by Hridhya Rajan, Jose V Thomas

Thora Mazha Pole is one of those rare Malayalam tracks that manages to feel both fresh and familiar the moment it begins. Credit goes to Nikhil Prabha for a score that understands exactly what the song needs and nothing more.

Hridhya Rajan, Jose V Thomas's vocal here has a quality that is difficult to describe but impossible to miss — it simply feels true. 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 Thora Mazha Pole, and Thora Mazha Pole was the track that ensured the album would be remembered. There is a quality to Thora Mazha Pole that makes it feel like company — the kind of song you put on when words feel insufficient.

The 3:19 runtime feels perfectly judged — long enough to develop its ideas, short enough to compel a second play. It is, simply, one of the better songs to come from Malayalam in recent memory — and the numbers agree.