Sathyan served as an officer in the British Indian Army during World War II. After the war he joined the Travancore state police as an inspector in late 1940s. During this time he got interested in acting and acted in amateur stage plays. He made his debut in 1952 film Athmasakhi and rose to stardom with the critically acclaimed film Neelakuyil in 1954. He dominated the Malayalam film industry over two decades ( 1952 – 1971) along with his contemporary Prem Nazir.