Professionals who hopped into the world o

The lure of the screen can indeed be far flung. There are thousands of acting hopefuls trying their luck out day in and day out in the city of dreams. For some, the gamble pays off for others it doesn't. Surprising it may sound, but there are many in Tellywood for whom acting happened just like that whilst they were busy pursuing other career options.

Anuj Saxena is a qualified doctor who was running his successful family pharmaceutical business when the acting bug bit him. Anuj got launched in a movie by Viveck Vaswani which sank without a trace following which he did a few insignificant roles in TV serials in the late nineties. He could strike gold with Balaji Telefilms after he got selected for Kkusum and later in serials like Pratima and Rishton Ki Dorr.

Even now Anuj juggles a successful acting career along with his business and his newly found production venture. "Actually I am handling all of it quite well", assures Anuj saying that now he has become an expert in multi-tasking. Haatim and Resham Dank star Raahil Azam surprised us a great deal by revealing his first profession.

"I am a qualified software engineer. I was working in Bangalore before I ended up in this profession. I realised acting was my calling," says Raahil who maintains that it was pure fascination and the will to do something different which landed him in this field. Saakshi Tanwar, one among the famous bahus was a former computer software consultant.

After graduation, Saakshi was preparing for entrance tests to the administrative services and mass communications when a close friend suggested that she audition for a film songs-based programme on Doordarshan. Meanwhile, her "traditional" career didn't take off when she failed to clear either of the tests. "If I don't get through any exam in the first attempt then it is not meant for me," says Saakshi. That's how acting happened for Sakshi Tanwar.

Even then during her initial days, Saakshi tried to keep her other 'interests' alive. She picked serials that didn't require much commitment so that she could continue with a computer course. For a long time Saakshi shared her time between computer classes and acting. She was seen in Ehsaas, Dastoor, X-Zone, Bhanwar, Rajdhani among other serials, before the big one Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki happened. Surprisingly in spite of her inclination towards a corporate career, Saakshi has been playing Parvati, a woman who takes all injustices in the world so convinceingly for years.

Another actor made famous by Balaji serials, Ronit Roy was into a different profession before acting happened. Ronit initially started out as an editor. The money was good and he continued as an editor even as his film career didn't take off. Until of course his TV career gave him stardom, fame and money. "I am a graduate in physical education", claims Sharad Kelkar who plays Nahar Singh in the super successful Saat Phere. In fact Sharad was working as a physical instructor before he got into acting on a full fledged basis.

Sakshi Tanwar, actress
If I don't get through an exam in the first attempt it is not meant for me