Meet IAS officer, UN official, who quit services to become Bollywood's..., won National Award, but debut film flopped, he is...

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Exam is widely regarded as one of the toughest competitive exams in India. To succeed in this exam, candidates dedicate countless hours to rigorous study. Every year, thousands of aspirants attempt the UPSC exam with the ambition of becoming IAS, IFS, IRS, and IPS officers. However, only a select few manage to clear this highly competitive examination, which comprises three stages: the preliminary exam, the main exam, and the interview. Today, we will talk about an IAS officer, who quit his UN job for his passion for films. 

This IAS officer is none other than Paparao Biyyala, formerly known as BVP Rao. At the height of his administrative career, he confidently took this seemingly unthinkable move. 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 United Nations Mission in Kosovo in 1999. He was also a policy advisor to Telangana government from 2014-19.

When Biyyala was in Assam, he met the renowned filmmaker Jahnu Barua, which sparked his interest in films and filmmaking.  Biyyala refined his craft and learnt filmmaking from the master during the ensuing years. Ultimately, in 1996, he received a Diploma in Filmmaking from the New York Film Academy. He then produced Willing To Sacrifice, a documentary short film that took home the National Award for Best Non-Feature Environment/Conservation/Preservation Film.

However, Biyyala returned to his day job in 2020. Biyyala left his job at the Sports Authority of India to pursue a career as a filmmaker. His debut movie, Music School, was released in May 2023 and starred Sharman Joshi and Shriya Saran. However, despite receiving favourable reviews, the movie did not do well at the box office.

In an interview with DNA prior to Music School's premiere, Biyyala discussed how he views filmmaking as distinct from administrative labour. "We organised much bigger events and undertakings," he stated.  It was far more challenging to plan events like the prime minister's visits or how to handle any crises. It wasn't that difficult to shoot a movie. The IAS-turned-director stated that he intends to make a big-screen comeback shortly.