How Vaazha 2’s 'Koodappirannor' composer Parvatish Pradeep left Bollywood to find his voice in Malayalam films

The first few notes of Koodappirannor do not try to seize attention. They arrive gently, almost like a memory surfacing after years of silence. There is an ease to its opening that feels unforced, unhurried. But what follows has been anything but quiet. Since its release, the song from Vaazha 2 has steadily taken over timelines, conversations, and listening queues, emerging as one of the film’s most emotionally resonant moments.

Built around the fragile, enduring bond between siblings, Koodappirannor has struck a nerve that feels deeply personal to many listeners. For 28-year-old composer Parvatish Pradeep, the intensity of that response has been both rewarding and, at times, overwhelming.

Parvatish was not coming to the track as an outside observer. Having also worked on the film’s background score, he was already deeply immersed in its emotional rhythm long before the song took its final shape. “I had already gone through the scenes and understood what was unfolding in those moments,” he says. “From the very beginning, I was told that this song would centre on the bond between siblings, so I was clear about the emotional space I had to work within.”

That clarity of intent, however, did not make the process any easier. If anything, it sharpened the challenge. Vipin Das wanted the song to carry the emotional weight of Makane, the widely loved song from Vaazha 1, composed by Parvatish, while still ensuring it stood firmly on its own.

“There were quite a few discussions around that,” he recalls. “We were trying to capture a similar emotional feel, but at the same time we were very careful that it should not sound like a continuation of Makane. It had to feel like its own independent piece.”

The turning point arrived during conversations with lyricist B K Harinarayanan and filmmaker Vipin Das. The melody had already begun to take shape, but something essential was still missing, a word that could hold the emotional centre of the song.

“We were discussing a lot of possibilities when Vipin suggested ‘Koodepirannor’,” Parvatish says. “The moment he said it, it just felt perfect. The melody was already there, but that word gave it a direction. Everything started aligning after that.”

Even as the composition evolved in the studio, its emotional grounding came from somewhere deeply personal. Parvatish found himself repeatedly drawing from his own relationship with his brother while shaping the music.

“My thoughts kept drifting to my brother while I was working on the song,” he says. “At one point, I sent it to him, and he connected with it immediately. That really gave me confidence. I felt that if it could move me and reach him like that, then it might reach others in the same way too.”

There were early signs that the song was working within the team itself. The responses during production were encouraging, and Parvatish sensed they were on the right track. Still, nothing prepared him for what followed after the film’s release.

“You always hope a song will connect with people,” he says. “But after Vaazha 2 released, the response was on a completely different level. I am still trying to make sense of it fully.”
What stood out most was not just the scale of the response, but its intimacy. Messages began pouring in, many of them carrying deeply personal stories.

“I was never very active on Instagram, and suddenly my DMs were full,” he says with a laugh. “But what really stayed with me was how emotional a lot of those messages were.”

One message, in particular, left a lasting impression.
“A mother wrote to me saying her son had recently lost his father, and that the song had become very important for them during that time,” he says. “I did not know how to respond at first. Later, I told her that her son has a brother in me. It became a very emotional moment. That is when I realised the song had gone far beyond what we created in the studio.”

Part of what makes Koodappirannor so effective is its close connection to the film’s structure. While it works as a standalone piece, it is also closely tied to Makane, both thematically and musically.

“The song starts in a completely different pitch and scale,” Parvatish explains. “But during discussions, Vipin pointed out that one part deals with siblings, while another touches on the bond between fathers and sons. So we could not let it shift abruptly from one emotion to another.”
Instead, the composition was carefully shaped to allow those transitions to feel natural.

“I had to structure it in a way where, towards the end, Koodepirannor gradually moves into the pitch and scale of Makane,” he says. “That way, both songs blend into each other smoothly without feeling forced or disconnected.”

Originally from Kollam, Parvatish spent much of his childhood in Bhopal before moving to Mumbai to pursue music seriously. His early career unfolded in Bollywood, where he worked as a music producer across more than 35 films.

“I was involved in a lot of projects there, and I was learning all the time,” he says. “But at some point, I started feeling like I was not really growing creatively anymore.”
His entry into Malayalam cinema came through a familiar connection. “Ankit Menon, who is the music supervisor of Vaazha, is a childhood friend,” he says. “I started assisting him, and when the makers decided to bring in new composers, that is how I became part of the project.”

Vaazha marked his debut as a composer, a shift that changed the direction of his career. Despite growing up outside Kerala, Parvatish never felt disconnected from Malayalam music.
“My parents made sure I grew up listening to Malayalam songs,” he says. “That foundation was always there. The only challenge at first was pronunciation, but I have worked on it and improved over time.”

Music, for him, has always been rooted in family. His father, a Bharatanatyam teacher and Carnatic vocalist, introduced him to classical music early on.
“At home, my father used to conduct classes, and I would just sit and listen even before I formally started learning,” he says. “Everything comes from there. My brother is also a vocalist and Bharatanatyam dancer, so music has always been part of our home.”

Today, Parvatish has consciously shifted towards Malayalam cinema, stepping away from the more stable path he had built in Bollywood.

“In Bollywood, I had projects and financial stability,” he says. “But I did not feel like I was growing creatively. Here in Kerala, there is more space to experiment with music. That was one of the main reasons I made the shift.”

That decision is already shaping his trajectory in significant ways. With Koodappirannor, Parvatish has created a song that has moved beyond the boundaries of the film itself, becoming something far more personal for listeners.