This IAS officer and UN official resigned from his job to make films, and even won a National Award
The Indian Administrative Services is one of the most prestigious services in the world, and certainly the hardest to get into. So one would assume that if someone has become an IAS officer, there are little chances that they would give that up, and that too for something like cinema. But that is exactly what Papa Rao Biyyala aka BVP Rao did recently. The veteran IAS officer-turned-UN official gave that administrative life up for a creative one.
Who is Papa Rao Biyyala?
An IAS officer of the 1982 batch, Biyyala worked as an administrator in various parts of India. He was a law graduate from Osmania University and was looking to finish his Ph.D but gave that up after he qualified for the services. During his tenure in the services, Biyyala served as the Home Secretary in Assam from 1994-97, and later worked as Civil Affairs Officer at the the United Nations Mission in Kosovo in 1999. He was also a policy advisor to Telangana government from 2014-19.
Papa Rao Biyyala’s film career
Biyyala’s interest in cinema and filmmaking began when he was in Assam and was introduced to the state’s legendary filmmaker Jahnu Barua. Over the next few years, Biyyala learnt filmmaking from the master and honed his craft. He eventually attained a Diploma in Film Making from the New York Film Academy in 1996. He then made a documentary short film called Willing To Sacrifice, which won the National Award for Best Non-Feature Environment/Conservation/Preservation Film. Biyyala went back to his day job again but returned in 2020. After resigning from his position at the Sports Authority of India, Biyyala became a full-time filmmaker. His first film – Music School – starred Shriya Saran and Sharman Joshi, and was released in May 2023. But even as the film generated positive reviews, it was a failure at the box office.
Papa Rao Biyyala on filmmaking
Ahead of the release of Music School, Biyyala spoke to DNA about how different he finds filmmaking from administrative work. He said, “We organised much bigger events and undertakings. To organise things like Prime Minister’s visits or response to any crisis was much more difficult. Shooting a film wasn’t that big a task.” The IAS-turned-filmmaker said that he plans to return to the big screen with another film soon.
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 "Papa Rao Biyyala with Shriya Saran on the sets of Music School")
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