After college, he joined Kalabhavan, a professional mimicry troupe in Kochi. At the age of 22, he was introduced into the cinema field by script writer and filmmaker Padmarajan who gave Jayaram his launching pad with the 1988 film "Aparan". Jayaram subsequently acted in Padmarajan's "Moonnam Pakkam" (1988) and "Innale" (1989). Padmarajan became his mentor in his film career till the former's death in January 1991. He became one of the Superstars of Malayalam film industry through the film "Meleparambil Aanveedu"(1993) which was directed by Rajasenan. The film was commercial success and ran more than 200 days in theatres. His on-screen chemistry with Shobana worked well in films Innale, Meleparambil Aanveedu and Dhwani.