# Kailas Menon

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, he debuted as a composer in feature films with director Jayaraj's Pakarnnatam. His first mainstream release happened much later with Theevandi, for which he earned his first Filmfare Award.

## Early life

Kailas 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.

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

## Personal life

Menon 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.

## Film discography

| Year | Film | Language | Songs | Background score | Notes |
| 2011 | Starring Pournami | Malayalam | Yes | Yes | Unreleased film |
| 2012 | Pakarnnaattam | Malayalam | N/A | Yes | |
| 2018 | Theevandi | Malayalam | Yes | Yes | Maiden release |
| 2019 | Ittymaani: Made in China | Malayalam | Yes | No | One song only |
| 2019 | Finals | Malayalam | Yes | Yes | |
| 2019 | Edakkad Battalion 06 | Malayalam | Yes | Yes | |
| 2021 | Six Hours | Malayalam | Yes | Yes | |
| 2021 | Member Rameshan 9aam Ward | Malayalam | Yes | Yes | |
| 2021 | Poga Bandy | Telugu | Yes | Yes | Remake of Theevandi. Telugu debut. |
| 2021 | Kotthu | Malayalam | Yes | No | |
| 2022 | Kallan D’Souza | Malayalam | No | Yes | |
| 2022 | Vaashi | Malayalam | Yes | No | |
| 2022 | Nalaam Mura | Malayalam | Yes | No | |
| 2023 | Dear Vaappi | Malayalam | Yes | Yes | |
| 2023 | Janaki Jaane | Malayalam | Yes | No | |
| 2023 | Flush | Malayalam | Yes | Yes | |
| 2023 | Nalla Nilavulla Rathri | Malayalam | Yes | Yes | |
| 2023 | Jaladhara Pumpset Since 1962 | Malayalam | Yes | Yes | |

## Awards and nominations

| Award | Year | Project | Category | Outcome |
| Filmfare Award | 2019 | Theevandi | Best Music Director - Malayalam | 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 | 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 |