Unni Menon | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Born | Nambalatt Narayanankutty Menon (1955-12-02)2 December 1955 (age 70) |
| Genres | Film score,Devotional |
| Occupations | Singer, music director, actor |
| Years active | Early 1980s–present |
| Website | Official website |
Nambalatt Narayanankutty Menon (born 2 December 1955), known better by his stage nameUnni Menon is an Indian film playback singer. He has recorded over 4000 songs in many Indian languages includingMalayalam,Tamil,Telugu andKannada.[1] In the early part of his career, he spent many years as a low-profile playback singer.[1] The turning point in his career came with the song "Pudhu Vellai Mazhai" fromMani Ratnam's award-winning 1992 Tamil filmRoja, composed byA. R. Rahman.
Menon has frequently associated with A. R. Rahman, lending his voice to nearly 27 popular songs from films likeKaruththamma (1994) andMinsaara Kanavu (1997).
Unni Menon was born as Narayanankutty Menon[2] at the temple town ofGuruvayur[3] in theThrissur district ofKerala to V.K.S. Menon and Malathy. His father was an officer in theTamil Nadu police and a native of Guruvayur.
Menon did his schooling at Guruvayur and then at theBasel Evangelical Mission School, Palakkad.[4] Later, he attended theGovernment Victoria College, Palakkad, from where he graduated inPhysics. He exhibited great talent and enthusiasm for music in childhood, winning many prizes in competitions throughout his school and college days.[5]
Unni Menon is a Malayalam film playback singer. Kunjunni, a violinist for music director Ilaiyaraaja introduced him toB. A. Chidambaranath, a music director, and Unni's musical career was launched in 1981–82. His maiden song "Amudhum Thenum" was never released, but with "Pon maane kobam eno" he became a noted singer in 1984.[1]
He was a track singer and after listening to his tracks for the film,Kadathu, KJ Yesudas asked to the music director, Shyam, to make it straight. And after the huge success of theKadathu songs ("Olangal Thaalam Thullumbol", "Punnaare Poonthinkale", etc.), Unni became a regular singer for the hit music director, Shyam. Shyam has given him a good number of popular songs like "Maanathe Hoori Pole" (Ee Naadu), "Valakilukkam Oru Valakilukkam" (Munnettam), "Kaayampoo Korthu Tharum" (Aarorumariyaathe) and "Thozhuthu Madangum Sandhyayumetho" (Aksharangal).
After Shyam's decline from the film music field, Unni's career in Malayalam film musicdom also went into shades. During that period, he has given some hit private albums such asRaagageethi andRaaga Lahari, with his contemporary playback singer, Ashalatha.Paanchajanyam, a Hindu devotional audio album on Lord Guruvayurappan, brought him a lot of fame in the Malayalam audio world.
Unni Menon moved toChennai (then Madras) where he had a job in the Heavy Vehicles Factory at Avadi. Many of the prominent recording studios of South India were located in Chennai. His interest in music led him to visit these studios regularly and formed acquaintances with many prominent artists like the singerK. J. Yesudas and composer Ilayaraaja. Soon he had graduated from singing tracks for prominent singers and was becoming a singer sought after by many music directors.[6]
In the 1980s he had few lone hits, "Pon maane kobam eno" in Tamil film 'Oru Kaidhiyin Diary', with a nickname Vijay, singing for Ilayaraja. His career got a major boost in 1992 when A. R. Rahman offered him the song "Puthu Vellai Mazhai".
In 2003, Unni Menon added a new dimension to his career when he acted and composed music for the Malayalam filmSthithi besides singing the songs in the film.[7]
Unni menon is the leading Singer in 2009 Malayalam Devotional AlbumSaranamanthram directed byKamalan.
Unni Menon is married to Sashila Sugathan, and the couple has two sons, Ankur and Akash.[8]
| Year | Name of Television Show | Role | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Super Singer Season 10 | Guest | Star Vijay |
| 2025 | Super Singer Junior season 10 | Guest | Star Vijay |
Film Guidance Society of Kerala Film Awards:
North American Film Awards
Kalaimamani Honour by Tamil Nadu Government
List of Malayalam songs recorded by Unni Menon
| Year | Movie | Song | Music director | Lyrics | Co-artist(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Marmaram | "Angam Prathi Anangan" | M. S. Viswanathan | Kavalam Narayana Panicker | S. Janaki |
| 2003 | Sthithi | "Oru Chembaneer" | Unni Menon | Prabhavarma | |
| 2012 | Spirit | Maranamethunna | Shahabaz Aman | Rafeeq Ahmed | |
| 2022 | Bheeshma Parvam | "Rathipushpam" | Sushin Shyam | Vinayak Sasikumar |
List of Tamil songs recorded by Unni Menon
| Year | Film | Song | Composer(s) | Co-singer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Donga Donga | "Veera Bobbili" | A. R. Rahman | Mano,K. S. Chithra |
| 1994 | Vanitha | "Poodota Poochindanta" | A. R. Rahman | Sujatha Mohan |
| 1997 | 50 - 50 | "O Meghana" | A. R. Rahman | |
| Merupu Kalalu | "Ooh La La La" | |||
| 1999 | Premikula Roju | "Vaalu Kannuladaana" | A. R. Rahman | |
| "Dhaandiya" | Kavita Krishnamurthy,M. G. Sreekumar | |||
| Time | "Oyyala Pandagochindhi" | Ilaiyaraaja | ||
| 2000 | Maa Annayya | "Maa Logililo" | S. A. Rajkumar | |
| Rhythm | "Dhimtanana Dhimtanana" | A. R. Rahman | ||
| Priyuallu Pilichindi | ”Yemaaye Naa Kavitha | A. R. Rahman | K. S. Chithra | |
| 2003 | Nee Manasu Naaku Telusu | "Kalusukundhama" | A. R. Rahman | |
| 2004 | Cheppave Chirugali | "Nannu Laalinchu"(Duet) | S. A. Rajkumar |
