LATHA MENON
VERSATILE, MULTI TALENTED WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR
Latha is a storyteller whose soul comprises of visuals and words that translate into narratives.From a busy actor endorsing an efficient telecom brand to the real life stories of dairy farmers, to a weaver staying true to his art in times of change, she believes understanding character is the crux of art. She has directed and produced over 150 ad films. Her high profile clients include HAP’s Arokya Milk, Hatsun curd and Arun Ice creams, Unilever, and Britannia among others.
She also makes documentaries that deal with contemporary social issues and personalities. This includes documentaries on adoption for the ‘Karna Prayag trust’, The National Association for Blindness and ‘The Hindu.’ Vaal Paarai Vata Paarai, a music video directed by Latha featuring Malgudi Shubha was among MTV’s top 100 music videos in 1999 and she has won several advertising awards.
For LathaMenon, learning is a constant to stay relevant in this dynamic field of media. It began with her education, when she did her masters in Social Communication Media from Sophia College, Bombay. To fine-tune her cinematic eye, she has been an assistant director for Mani Ratnamin “KannathilMuthamittal” and “Dilse”. These multifarious experiences in the Industry have kept the photographer within her alive. On the twentieth anniversary of her production house, she released a calendar with wild life photography (2016) and raised funds for the Chennai flood relief.
In the next year (2017) her calendar featured ‘People, Places & Pictures’ and raised funds for the Tamil Nadu Kidney Relief foundation. In 2018,the calendar was dedicated to the hard working farmers of our country. ‘Celebrating Blues,’ the calendar of 2019 was dedicated to Suyam charitable trust and their cause in reaching the unreached communities in society. Calendar 2020 was dedicated to Wildlife trust of India (WTI) and their commitment to the service of nature. There was no calendar for the first year of the pandemic. Calendar 2022 was dedicated to destitute children and an organisation Children’s Village that supports the cause.
During the 25 years of her production company, Iris Film, Latha has alway encouraged and brought in young girls into her team. As an industry leader, she has always made sure to give the girls training in traditional male soft skills like confidence, assertiveness and, resilience so that they aren’t excluded from opportunities. Many of her mentees moved on to work independently and succeed in this primarily male dominated field. Even today, she has young girls in her team helping her create her first feature film.
She has completed a full circle by also working as a faculty member in Mindscreen Film Institute. LathaMenon works towards making ideas that combine innovation with insightful concepts that strive to reach out to audiences in this constantly evolving world.
photography
On the twentieth anniversary of her production house, she released a calendar with wild life photography (2016) and raised funds for the Chennai flood relief, ‘People, Places, &Pictures’ (2017), raised funds for the Tamil Nadu Kidney Relief foundation, 2018, was for farmers and this year’s calendar,’Celebrating Blues’ raised funds for Suyam charitable trust.
Documentary
She also makes documentaries that deal with contemporary social issues and personalities. This includes documentaries on adoption for the ‘Karna Prayag trust’, The National Association for Blindness and ‘The Hindu.’ Vaal Paarai Vata Paarai, a music video directed by Latha featuring Malgudi Shubha was among MTV’s top 100 music videos in 1999 and she has won several advertising awards.
commercial
From a busy actor endorsing an efficient telecom brand to the real life stories of dairy farmers, to a weaver staying true to his art in times of change, she believes understanding character is the crux of art. She has directed and produced over 150 ad films. Her high profile clients include HAP’s Arokya Milk, Hatsun curd and Arun Ice creams, Unilever, and Britannia among others.