A lovely lass emerges from the sapphire sea and walks to the shore as the familiar music floats in the air. As the popular Bhima ad ‘etho etho ee saundaram’ runs on the screen we can’t help humming the lines. Ever wondered who’s behind the catchy music that linger on your mind? Kailas Menon, the young musician who composed the hit jingle, is known in the industry for his noteworthy works. The other jingle he remixed for Bhima ‘Pennayal ponnu venam’ was equally popular. Kailas set foot in the industry with a music album when he was 16. In his debut venture, he also penned the lyrics for one of his compositions. At the time, he was one among the youngest music directors waiting for the right opportunity. “My biggest support has always been my parents, if it wasn’t for them none of this would have been possible. I owe everything to their blessings and support,” he says.Though he is now one of the most sought-after music directors in the ad film industry, Kailas remembers it wasn’t easy when he started off. Kailas’s first jingle happened when he was struggling to make a foothold in the industry doing a couple of jingles for the radio. “I went and met Ouseppachan sir. It was he who told me that I cannot survive on films alone and that was a kind of reality check for me. He advised me to keep trying in other genres of music too,” he says. Kailas sent his demo music to lot of ad agencies. Finally, director Jabbar was the one who gave him a break with “Etho etho...” When asked how he felt when his jingle was first released on screen, the young composer says the experience was not anything less than pure euphoria. “The very thought of it brings an ecstatic feeling, the happiness of seeing my work on screen coupled with the good response, I was just over the moon,” he says.During his college days Kailas had done music for a couple of short films with his friends which received a national acclamation. One of the short films bagged the prize for second best film. After college he worked in Aha FM radio. This stint lasted only for about 6 months, as he soon realised that it was not his cup of tea. After quitting the FM he joined Gopi Sundar (‘Anwar’ and ‘Sagar Alias Jacky’ fame) as his sound engineer. Kailas says a jingle is “creativity on demand”. Unlike film music the time duration is 30 to 40 seconds maximum. “Within the limited time you will have to market the product, catch the attention of the audience, and convey the message,” he says. Kailas hasn’t limited himself to jingles alone; he recently did the music for the Jayaraj film ‘Pakarnattam’. “Doing the music for a film like ‘Pakarnattam’ was a major boost for my career. Even the silence in the film conveyed meanings to the audience and I could treat it like music. I didn’t want to do a movie for the sake of doing a movie anymore. Being in the industry helped me change my perspective on many things. I wanted to do it with the right kind of people, script etc. Jayaraj sir asked me to watch the movie and I simply fell in love with it,” he says. He has also done mixing for various Malayalam and Tamil films. Kailas owns a studio named Octaves in Chennai. In the year 2009 his jingle for RMKV Silks, Chennai, won the best jingle award, instituted by Chennai Ad Club. The latest one in his kitty is the music for the ad of Lu Lu.
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