Kailas Menon is an Indian film composer who works predominantly in Malayalam films and commercials. After working as a composer for television commercials for more than a decade,[1] he debuted as a composer in feature films with director Jayaraj's Pakarnnatam. His first mainstream release happened much later with Theevandi,[2] for which he earned his first Filmfare Award.[3]
Kailas Menon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 30 May 1986 |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Spouse |
Annapoorna Lekha Pillai
(m. 2014) |
| Children | Samanyu Rudra(br.2020) |
| Musical career | |
| Instrument | Keyboard |
| Labels |
|
Early life
editKailas was born in Thrissur, Kerala on 30 May 1986. He learned carnatic music for eight years and was a self-trained keyboard player. He completed his schooling from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Thrissur. He graduated in Visual Communications from SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, and pursued a course in sound engineering from SAE Institute, Chennai.[4]
Career
editMenon had his first release, the music album Snehathode, at the age of 16.[4]
His professional career began much later, when he joined as an assistant to Malayalam film composer Ouseppachan and subsequently became a sound engineer for Gopi Sunder.
This was followed by a decade-long stint as a composer of television commercials, having scored for over 1000 commercials for brands like Rolls-Royce, Samsung, Toshiba, Unilever, and Bhima Jewellers.[1]
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 Theevandi. The song "Jeevamshamayi", rendered by Shreya Ghoshal and K. S. Harisankar, earned him a Filmfare Award.[3]
In 2019, he launched his own music label, Kailas Menon Productions, and the first film album released from the label was Finals.[2]
Personal life
editMenon married Annapoorna Lekha Pillai, a lawyer at the Kerala High Court, on 8 December 2014. Their son, Samanyu Rudra, was born on 17 August 2020.[5]
Film discography
edit| Year | Film | Language | Songs | Background score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Starring Pournami | Malayalam | Yes | Yes | Unreleased film |
| 2012 | Pakarnnaattam[1] | Malayalam | N/A | Yes | |
| 2018 | Theevandi | Malayalam | Yes | Yes | Maiden release |
| 2019 | Ittymaani: Made in China | Malayalam | Yes | No | One song only |
| Finals | Malayalam | Yes | Yes | ||
| Edakkad Battalion 06 | Malayalam | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2021 | Six Hours | Malayalam | Yes | Yes | |
| Member Rameshan 9aam Ward | Malayalam | Yes | Yes | ||
| Poga Bandy | Telugu | Yes | Yes | Remake of Theevandi. Telugu debut. | |
| Kotthu | Malayalam | Yes | No | ||
| 2022 | Kallan D’Souza | Malayalam | No | Yes | |
| Vaashi | Malayalam | Yes | No | ||
| Nalaam Mura | Malayalam | Yes | No | ||
| 2023 | Dear Vaappi | Malayalam | Yes | Yes | |
| Janaki Jaane | Malayalam | Yes | No | ||
| Flush | Malayalam | Yes | Yes | ||
| Nalla Nilavulla Rathri | Malayalam | Yes | Yes | [6] | |
| Jaladhara Pumpset Since 1962 | Malayalam | Yes | Yes | [7] |
Awards and nominations
edit
| Award | Year | Project | Category | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Filmfare Award | 2019 | Theevandi | Best Music Director - Malayalam[8] | Won |
| Kerala Film Critics Association Awards | 2019 | Theevandi | Best Music Director | Won |
| Mazhavil Entertainment Awards | 2019 | Theevandi | Best Music Director | Won |
| Asiavision Awards | 2019 | Theevandi | Best Music Director[9] | Won |
| Additional awards | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Indiewood Film Award | Won |
| Nana Film Award | Won |
| Janmabhoomi Award | Won |
| Jaycee Foundation Award | Won |
| ACV Johnson Master Award | Won |
| Ramu Kariat Award (Finals BGM) | Won |
| Creative Film Award | Won |
References
edit- ^ a b c Soman, Deepa (23 April 2018). "Kailas Menon: Composing jingles for ads gave me confidence to be versatile". The Times of India.
- ^ a b "Kailas Menon launches own music company". The New Indian Express. 20 June 2019.
- ^ a b "Winners of the 66th Filmfare Awards (South) 2019". filmfare.com. 21 December 2019.
- ^ a b Nair, Meera (6 September 2012). "Music matters". The Hindu.
- ^ "'അവനൊപ്പമുള്ള എന്റെ ആദ്യ ചിത്രം'; കുഞ്ഞതിഥിയെ പരിചയപ്പെടുത്തി കൈലാസ് മേനോൻ" [Kailas Menon introduces his son]. Malayala Manorama (in Malayalam). 24 August 2020.
- ^ Ramachandran, Arjun (30 June 2023). "Nalla Nilavulla Raathri review: This thriller is high on technical quality, but lacks a good script". The South First. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
- ^ "Urvashi - Indrans starrer 'Jaladhara Pumpset Since 1962' wraps up the shoot". The Times of India. 30 August 2022. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
- ^ "WINNERS OF THE FILMFARE AWARDS SOUTH 2019 - MALAYALAM". Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- ^ "Winners of Asiavision Movie Awards 2018". Retrieved 13 April 2020.