This IAS officer worked in UN, quit civil services to make films, won National Award, but debut film flopped when...

The job and stature of an Indian Administrative Services officer is one of the most prestigious in India. An IAS officer is considered one of the most revered people in social circles. Naturally, thousands struggle to clear the UPSC exam. So it does come across as unusual when an established IAS officer decided to quit the services in pursuit of other avenues. It is an even bigger surprise when those other avenues are filmmaking.

The IAS officer who worked in UN, then quit to be a filmmaker

Papa Rao Biyyala is a former member of the Indian Administrative Services from the 1982 batch. Biyyala, who was known as BVP Rao during his service days, was a law graduate from Osmania University. Biyyala worked as an IAS officer in various parts of India and was the Home Secretary in Assam from 1994-97. Later, he was sent on deputation to the United Nations where he worked as Civil Affairs Officer at the the United Nations Mission in Kosovo in 1999. Later, he was also a policy advisor to Telangana government from 2014-19, holding a rank equivalent to a cabinet minister.

Why Papa Rao Biyyala turned filmmaker

Papa Rao Biyyala’s interest in filmmaking began in the late-90s when by his friend and actor Tom Alter to National Award-winning filmmaker Jahnu Barua. Biyyala trained under Barua, learning filmmaking from him. He even went to the US and earned a Diploma in Film Making from the New York Film Academy in 1996.

Papa Rao Biyyala’s filmmaking career

Biyyala made his filmmaking debut with a documentary short film Willing to Sacrifice in the 90s. The film won a National Award for Best Non-Feature Environment/Conservation/Preservation Film. After this brief tryst, Biyyala went back to the services but decided to give filmmaking another go a few years ago. In 2020, he resigned from Sports Authority of India, where he was a member of the governing body, ending his career in the administrative services. Biyyala then made his Bollywood debut with the feature film Music School. Starring Shriya Saran and Sharman Joshi, the film was released in theatres on May 12 this year. However, in the absence of big stars and a buzz among the audience, the film failed to do well at the box office despite good reviews.

Papa Rao Biyyala’s views 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 plans to return to the big screen with another film soon.