Prem Menon (born 28 July 1952) is a prominent media personality, businessman and philanthropist based in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. Prem was the Vice President of India's first regional television channel

Asianet Asianet may refer to: Disney Star channels *Asianet Communications, an Indian media company wholly owned by Disney Star **Asianet (TV channel), a Malayalam language general entertainment channel **Asianet Plus, a Malayalam language general entertai ...

in 1992. He also served as the Business Head of

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Zee Entertainment Enterprises (formerly Zee Telefilms) is an Indian media conglomerate owned by Essel Group. Headquartered in Mumbai, it has interests in television, print, internet, film, businesses related to mobile contents, and operates 45 ...

and

Zee News Zee News is an Indian Hindi-language news channel owned by Subhash Chandra's Essel Group. It launched on 27 August 1999 and is the flagship channel of the Zee Media Corporation. The channel has been involved in several controversies and has ...

and was responsible for the success of Zee's regional television channel

Zee Tamizh Zee Tamil is an Indian Tamil language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. The channel started broadcasting on 2008 and is available internationally. The channel broadcasts from Guindy, Chennai, T ...

. Prem is currently the managing director at

Global United Media Global United Media Company Private Limited is a corporate entity in the Indian film markets formed in March 2014. The company's core engagement is film production, acquisition and distribution across languages, genres and territories. Global Un ...

Company Pvt Ltd. Prem has also appeared in several television commercials and has appeared in cameo roles in several feature films.

Early life

Prem was born to MM Menon, general manager of the then Hindustan Levers Pvt. Ltd. and Ammu Menon in

. He went to school at St. Bede's Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School and later graduated from the

Madras Christian College Madras Christian College (MCC) is a liberal arts and sciences college in Chennai, India. Founded in 1837, MCC is one of Asia's oldest extant colleges. The college is affiliated to the University of Madras but functions as an autonomous institu ...

in Political Science. Throughout college, he was always inclined towards dramatics, theatre and was keen in pursuing a career in the entertainment industry. Prem was also the cultural secretary at MCC. After graduation, Prem worked for several organizations including Hindustan Levers Pvt Ltd, Wockhardt Pvt Ltd and Zubair Automotive in Oman. After working in Oman for over three years, Prem returned to India in 1986, and went on to set up PC India – one of the first computer hardware dealership firms in the country, along with his friends. A few years later, Prem decided to pursue his dream, quit PC India, to help set up the Malayalam Entertainment channel

along with his college friend

Sashi Kumar Sashi Kumar (born 23 February 1952) is an Indian journalist and media personality from Kerala. He worked in Asianet, the country's first regional satellite television channel. He founded and chairs the Media Development Foundation, the not f ...

Career and media

Prem Menon joined Asianet as Vice President and was responsible for the channels success. Some of Prem's super hit concepts included programs like Sthree, Comicola, and the prestigious Asianet Film Awards. After leaving Asianet in 2001, Prem had a stint at several organizations including positions like Vice President – Zee Network and President – Malar Network. Prem rejoined Zee Network as Business Head of Zee Tamil and Zee News in 2009 and was instrumental in building the Zee Tamizh. Some of the hit series that were telecast during his tenure included ''Solvathellam Unmai'' and ''Zee Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge''. In 2013, Prem left Zee Network to end his long career in the Indian television industry and joined Global United Media, a company whose core engagements are film production, acquisition and distribution which was an instant success with releases like '' I'' and ''

Baahubali Bahubali Bahubali (), a much revered figure among Jains, was the son of Rishabadeva (the first ''tirthankara'' of Jainism) and the brother of Bharata Chakravartin. He is said to have meditated motionless for a year in a standing posture ('' ...

'' across

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. Prem has appeared in several TV commercials including Horlicks, Bharath Matrimony, Citibank and has even played cameo roles in movies like ''

Sivaji Sivaji is an Indian actor who appears in Telugu films. He won Nandi Award for Best Male Dubbing Artist for the movie '' Dil'' (voice for Nitin). Career Sivaji is from Narsarsopet in Guntur district. Sivaji started his stint as an editor in ...

'' and ''

Dancer Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoi ...

''.

Filmography

As distributor

As producer

Personal life

Prem is married to Usha. They have one son, musician Arjun Menon and daughter-in-law Preethi.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Menon, Prem Malayali people Indian television executives Film producers from Chennai Malayalam film producers Living people 1952 births