He is best known for his work on several popular Bollywood films such as "Shriman Satyawadi" (1960), "Hungama" (1971), "Ek Hasina Do Diwane" (1972), and "Kab?

His family connections also link him to notable Bollywood personalities, as his son Usman Syed is married to Radha, the younger sister of the renowned actress Rekha.

After graduating from Allahabad University, S. M. Abbas left for Bombay in early 1957, with a clear destination in mind: the film industry.

His next film was the Raj Kapoor starrer "Parvarish" in 1958, where he wrote additional dialogues and assisted the main writer Saghir Usmani, again using the name Ram Kumar.

The big break came in 1960-61 with "Shriman Satyavadi," considered by some, including himself, to be his best directorial venture.During this period, he worked on low-budget stunt movies like "Jadui Topi" and "Kaala Chashma."