[7] After a stint in the Army in the Second World War, Khayyam went to Bombay to fulfil his dream[9] and made his debut as Sharmaji of the Sharmaji-Varmaji composer duo with the film Heer Ranjha in 1948.

[7] One of his earliest breaks was in the film Biwi (1950) in which the song "Akele Mein Woh Ghabrate To Honge" sung by Mohammed Rafi was a hit.

[10] He gained greater recognition from the film Phir Subha Hogi (1958) starring Raj Kapoor and Mala Sinha, in which songs written by Sahir Ludhianvi and sung by Mukesh and Asha Bhosle were set to tune by Khayyam.

[11] Songs from the film Shola Aur Shabnam (1961) written by Kaifi Azmi established Khayyam's reputation as a composer.

[7] From the Chetan Anand directed Aakhri Khat (1966) "Baharon Mera Jeevan Bhi Sawaron" by Lata and "Aur Kuch Der Theher" by Rafi were huge hits.

[1] The songs showed Khayyam's versatility with hits such as "Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Mein Khayal Aata Hai" (Sung by Mukesh and Lata), "Tere Chehre Se Nazar Nahin" (by Kishore & Lata) and "Main Pal Do Pal Ka Shayar Hoon" (by Mukesh).

Songs from Trishul, Thodi Si Bewafaai, Bazaar, Dard, Noorie, Nakhuda, Sawaal, Bepannah, and Khandaan are some of his best works.

[16] Khayyam created music for the Kamal Amrohi directed film Razia Sultan (1983) and his song "Aye Dil-e-Nadan" sung by Lata is considered as a milestone.

The compositions were soulful, melodious and emotional, the songs were rich in poetry and purpose and the style was noticeably different from the popular brand of music in those days, which used to be either semi-classical, ghazal or light and peppy.

[21] He decided not to celebrate his birthday after the terrorist attack on India's border post of Pulwama and donated ₹5 lakh (US$5,800) to the kin of the martyrs.