They all left cozy life in pursuit of their passion

Success in any facet of life is not easy. Apart from talent, one needs to put in the right amount of hard work to achieve his or her objectives, especially in Tollywood.

Tollywood is always perceived to be a place where the playing ground is loaded heavily in favor of those people who have a background in the industry.

The truth however is different. Irrespective of connections, one needs to have the aforesaid qualities to make a lasting impression and have a successful career.

Many aspiring directors in the US have started to make their presence felt in Tollywood. But by no means has it been an easy journey for them. The decision to give up their secure livelihoods abroad in quest of their passion in an extremely dicey and unorganized environment and start life from scratch all over again is not an easy decision to make.

In other words, it is a question of putting your heart over mind and we look at a few filmmakers who have done, precisely that.

Leading the pack in terms of acclaim is undoubtedly Shekhar Kammula. A software engineer from New Jersey, Shekhar gave up his stint in the IT industry, midway in the US to pursue a Masters in film making at the Howard University, Washington, DC.

He then forayed into film-making in India, with Dollar Dreams, a film on Hyderabadi youth who aspire to go to the land of their dreams -- the US. Shekhar Kammula became the first Telugu to bag the prestigious National film Award for the 'Best First Film of a Director' at the 47th national film festival for Dollar Dreams.

But the recognition did not result in a flurry of offers by any means. Pooling whatever resources he had and aided by generous contributions from friends and family and the National Film Development Corporation, Shekhar went on to make Anand, which was a runaway hit at the box office His subsequent films Godavari, Happy Days, Leader and Life is Beautiful cemented his place in the industry. Had Anand failed, it would have put an end to Shekhar's hopes of a career in films and landed him in financial loss.

Deva Katta was a naturalized American citizen, having completed his Masters in Mechanical Engineering in the US and was working for General Motors before he took the plunge into film-making.

His first film Vennela was shot in the US and was well-received. His subsequent film after a gap of four years was the highly-acclaimed Prasthanam.

He is currently working on Autonagar Surya with Naga Chaitanya and Samantha in the lead roles. 'Nativity is not 'the' key factor. Film is a universal medium. Our approach will definitely be different as we are from a different culture, but we make sure that we connect with the audience through our stories,' says he.

Sagar Chandra who did his Maters in Chemical Engineering in the US subsequently did a film-making course before debuting in Tollywood with the critically acclaimed movie Ayyare. Says Sagar, 'I met with stiff resistance from my family. They couldn't understand why I wanted to give up a comfortable life to face the uncertainty of the film world. But I just decided to go ahead with my passion.'

Ajay Bhuyan an IIT and IIM alumnus is another film-maker who gave up a lucrative career overseas to pursue his first love, films. Ajay, who did a film-making course in New York has made two films in Telugu, Dhada and Housefull.

Talking about his decision, Ajay Bhuyan said, 'I love cinema and I am more excited and satisfied than most of my colleagues who are still pursuing high-paying jobs.'

So, do these people have an advantage over their contemporaries in Tollywood? 'Absolutely not!' says Sagar Chandra. 'Everyone here has to go through the same struggle.

The only difference is that some people might treat us with a bit more respect as we are educated. Other than that, it's purely the box-office results of your film that determines your future.'