IAS Papa Rao Biyal with Sharman Joshi.
The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) job in India is seen with great respect. The person who achieves this position comes to the prestige himself. Millions of youth pass the UPSC exam and dream of coming in this service, where there is a chance to build a nation. In such a situation, if an established and senior IAS officer steps into some other field except this service, then it is surprising and when it is the area of filmmaking, the surprise increases manifold. Today, we will talk about one such IAS officer who decided to quit his job for his passion towards films, this decision was shocking to everyone, but more than not to note that the film maker decided a new direction, but also achieved success in it, which was not easily possible. Let us tell you about this IAS officer.
An extraordinary professional journey
These IAS officers are none other than Papa Rao Biyala, who was earlier known as BVP Rao. He took this impossible looking step with confidence and that too when his administrative career was at its peak. Papa Rao Biyala, a 1982 batch IAS officer, studied law from Osmania University. In his three-decade long administrative career, he held important positions in different parts of the country. From 1994 to 1997, he won important responsibilities as the Home Secretary of Assam. Subsequently, under the United Nations Mission in 1999, he served as an officer of civil affairs in Kosovo. From 2014 to 2019, he was a policy advisor in the Telangana government, a post that was equal to the status of the cabinet minister.
Start of passion towards art
An artist was hiding somewhere inside Papa Rao Biyala, who was waiting to get a chance. In the late 90s, his close friend and character artist and veteran Tom Alter introduced him to filmmaker Jahnu Barua, who gained national and internationally fame. It was here that Papa Rao Biyala’s film journey started. He also obtained a diploma in filmmaking in 1996 from the New York Film Academy. His first short documentary ‘Willing to Sacarifize’ won the National Award for the best non-feature film based on environmental protection, indicating that Papa Rao Biyala has the artistic vision.
Farewell and film start from administration
Although after the initial film effort, he again returned to administrative services, but the creative urge within him did not calm down. Finally, in the year 2020, he resigned from the Sports Authority of India and said goodbye to the administrative life and embraced it completely in the cinema world. His first feature film ‘Music School’ was released in 2023, in which Shriya Saran and Sharman Joshi played the lead roles. The film depicted the pressure of the education system and the story of children’s creativity through music and emotions. Although the film was appreciated by critics, it could not do special wonders at the box office, perhaps the absence of big stars and lack of publicity was the reason for this.
Biala’s perspective on film production
In an interview to DNA, Papa Rao Biyala said, ‘The Prime Minister’s visit or an emergency crisis is administratively complicated. Creating a film seems less challenging than that. Now that he is fully moving towards filmmaking, Papa Rao Biyala is preparing to return to the big screen soon with his next film. At the moment, he has not announced his next film yet.
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