 Working with all major directors of the time, Shyam had scored for many hits of Jayan and the early films of Mammootty and Mohanlal.Shyam assisted legendary Malayalam film composer G. Devarajan, joining him as his violinist.He also apprenticed under maestros M. S. Viswanathan and Salil Chowdhury, the former renaming him 'Shyam'.