Kailas Menon is an Indian film composer who works predominantly in

Malayalam films Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...

and

commercials A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

. After working as a composer for television commercials for more than a decade, he debuted as a composer in feature films with director Jayaraj's ''Pakarnnatam''. His first mainstream release happened much later with ''

Theevandi ''Theevandi'' () is a 2018 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy drama film directed by Fellini T. P. and written by Vini Vishwa Lal. The film stars Tovino Thomas, Samyuktha, Sudheesh, Surabhi Lakshmi, Rajesh Sharma, Suraj Venjarammoodu, ...

'', for which he earned his first

Filmfare Award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Indian cinema.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were introduced by Filmfare magazine of The Time ...

Early life

Kailas was born in

Thrissur Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

on 30 May 1986. He learned

carnatic music Carnatic music (known as or in the Dravidian languages) is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and southern Odisha. It is o ...

for eight years and was a self-trained

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mus ...

player. He completed his schooling from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Thrissur. He graduated in

Visual Communication Visual communication is the use of visual elements to convey ideas and information which include (but are not limited to) signs, typography, drawing, graphic design, illustration, industrial design, advertising, animation, and electronic resourc ...

s from

SRM Institute of Science and Technology SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST) is a private deemed university located in Kattankulathur, (near Chennai), Tamil Nadu, India. Founded in 1985 as SRM Engineering College in Kattankulathur, it gained the deemed University status ...

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

, and pursued a course in sound engineering from

SAE Institute The SAE Institute (SAE) and SAE University College (in Australia), formerly the School of Audio Engineering and the SAE Technology College and badged SAE Creative Media Education, is a network of colleges around the world that provides creativ ...

, Chennai.

Career

Menon had his first release, the music album ''Snehathode'', at the age of 16. His professional career began much later, when he joined as an assistant to Malayalam film composer

Ouseppachan Mechery Louis Ouseppachan (born 13 September 1955), known mononymously as Ouseppachan, is an Indian film composer and singer who primarily works in Malayalam films. He is a recipient of National Film Award, Filmfare Award and Kerala State Fil ...

and subsequently became a sound engineer for Gopi Sunder. This was followed by a decade-long stint as a composer of

television commercials A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

, having scored for over 1000 commercials for brands like

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

Samsung Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...

Toshiba is a Japanese multinational electronics company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, elevators and escalators, electronic components, semiconductors ...

Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...

, and Bhima Jewellers. He debuted as a film composer with Jayaraj's off-beat film ''Pakarnnattam''. This was followed by '' Starring Pournami'' , which was shelved midway. His first mainstream release happened much later, with ''

''. The song "Jeevamshamayi", rendered by

Shreya Ghoshal Shreya Ghoshal (; born 12 March 1984) is an Indian singer. Noted for her wide vocal range and versatility, she is one of the most prolific and influential singers of India. Often referred to as the "Queen of Dynamics'' for her remarkable voc ...

and K. S. Harisankar, earned him a

. In 2019, he launched his own music label, Kailas Menon Productions, and the first film album released from the label was ''

Finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

''.

Personal life

Menon married Annapoorna Lekha Pillai, a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

at the

Kerala High Court The High Court of Kerala is the List of high courts in India, highest court in the Indian state of Kerala and the Union territory of Lakshadweep. It is located in Kochi. Drawing its powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the Hig ...

, on 8 December 2014. Their son, Samanyu Rudra, was born on 17 August 2020.

Film discography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *
Kailas Menon at MSI
{{DEFAULTSORT:Menon, Kailas Indian film score composers Living people Film musicians from Kerala Musicians from Thrissur People from Thrissur district 1986 births Kerala Film Critics Awards winners