He got the first major break with the hit Malayalam film named "Bharya" ( music by G. Devarajan and lyrics by Vayalar Ramavarma). In 1967, he sang hit songs in the composition of M.S.Baburaj for the film "Udhyogastha" directed by P.Venu. He also sang in Tamil for "Bommai" first (music: S. Balachander), but the first released movie was "Konjum Kumari" (music: Veda). In 1965, he was invited by the Soviet Union government to perform at music concerts in various cities in the USSR and also sang a Russian song over Radio Kazakhstan. The trio of Salil, Yesudas and Prem Nazir entered the Malayalam Cinema Industry of the 1970s.