Born in Batavia, Dutch East Indies, he started his acting career in theatre before migrating to film with 1948's Anggrek Bulan (Moon Orchid).

By 1948 he had reached Batavia, which was renamed Jakarta during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies (1942–1945), and has been cast in the South Pacific Film Corporation's Anggrek Bulan (Moon Orchid, 1948).

Arief appeared in numerous films for the company, including Bintang Surabaja 1951 (Star of Surabaya 1951, 1950) and Selamat Berdjuang, Masku!

He remained highly productive and acted for numerous companies, despite the slump the filmmaking industry underwent in the early 1969s.

Misbach Yusa Biran, in his 1979 directory of Indonesian film actors, quotes Arief as saying "I actually do not have any talent for comedy.

However, he did not quit acting, appearing in the TVRI television series Rumah Masa Depan (House of the Future, 1984–1986, 1989).