For IAS officer Ashwani Kumar, storytelling has never been just entertainment. It has been a way of making difficult ideas easier to understand, especially for people who may not have access to formal explanations or institutions. That belief has now taken him to cinema, with Devyani, a short film that explores women’s safety, empowerment and the freedom to live without fear.
Mr Kumar, an IITian and an IAS officer (2010 batch, Assam-Meghalaya cadre, serving as Director, DITEC, Assam Government), had never planned to enter films. Acting was completely unfamiliar territory for him. But when the opportunity to be part of Devyani came his way, he saw it as another way of communicating with people.
“Since my childhood, I have always been fascinated by storytelling. If there is a complex thing and you want to make other people understand it, there is always a story,” IAS Ashwani Kumar told in an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds.
That philosophy runs through Devyani. Rather than presenting women only as people who need protection, the film asks a different question: What if the person society is trying to protect can also become a protector?
From Protection to Empowerment
The central idea of Devyani emerged from situations Mr Kumar had observed around him, including the everyday anxiety families experience when it comes to the safety of their daughters.
He recalls his own childhood and how his father was particularly concerned about the safety of his younger sister. Ashwani Kumar himself was asked to study in the same school so that he could accompany her and bring her home.
That experience stayed with him.
For many families, the concern is not whether a girl is capable of handling herself. It is the fear surrounding her safety—where she is, when she will return and whether the environment around her is secure.
Devyani attempts to turn that conversation around.
Instead of asking how society can keep women away from danger, the film focuses on how women can be equipped, encouraged and trusted to face the world on their own terms.
“The idea is that a girl who is most vulnerable can also become a protector.”
The message is not about creating competition between men and women. Mr Kumar’s larger vision is of a society where both can move forward together, with women having the same freedom to pursue their ambitions.
The film touches upon issues such as women’s safety and female foeticide while questioning social attitudes that often influence the choices made for girls from childhood.
Its broader message is straightforward: a daughter can contribute, protect and take responsibility just as a son can—and sometimes, she can do even more.
An IAS Officer Behind the Camera
The transition from administration to acting was far from effortless.
IAS officer Ashwani Kumar had participated in dancing and debates but had never acted in theatre or films. When he was first offered the role, his reaction was one of genuine surprise.
He underwent workshops after the script was finalised. While some portions of the character came naturally because of his experience as an administrator, others demanded considerable practice.
The initial scenes between the husband and wife were particularly challenging. Another difficult moment came towards the end, when his character has to express fear and ask his wife to postpone the plan of having a child.
Facing the camera itself was another challenge.
“Facing the camera is always scary. I would say it is never a comfortable feeling. You always have butterflies in your stomach.”
Yet the experience also gave him a new appreciation for people who work in front of and behind the camera. He says the experience increased his respect for journalists, who routinely enter uncomfortable situations, travel to remote locations and keep searching for stories regardless of the circumstances.
Why Cinema?
For Mr Kumar, the choice of cinema is closely connected to the way people learn and remember.
As an administrator, he has often encountered people from remote areas for whom explaining complex matters one-to-one can be difficult. Visual storytelling, he believes, can bridge that gap by engaging multiple senses.
“Motion pictures are a way of storytelling. It is a very effective way. It has been proved time and again that it is the most effective way to communicate with your audience.”
His own experience reinforces this belief. During his civil services preparation, Mr Kumar watched films connected to topics in the UPSC syllabus and says they helped him remember history, mythology and complex relationships between different civilisations.
For him, therefore, cinema is not separate from public communication. It is another tool through which ideas, social messages and government initiatives reach people.
That is also why he sees Devyani as more than an acting debut.
It is an attempt to take a social conversation beyond offices, seminars and government programmes and present it in a format that younger audiences can connect with.
Creativity Beyond the Job Description
Mr Kumar’s move into cinema also reflects a larger belief he holds about creativity.
An IAS officer is often expected to maintain composure and professionalism. But he argues that expression and empathy are equally important qualities in public service.
“For me, expressing yourself is very, very important. Empathy is very, very important. It is part of the job.”
His approach to administration has similarly involved stepping outside familiar areas of knowledge. After entering public service, he realised that he needed to understand the language of finance to communicate effectively with business professionals. He subsequently studied finance and appeared for the CFA examination in 2020.
The principle is the same: if an administrator wants to understand people, the administrator must be willing to learn from different worlds.
Cinema became another such world.
And it also forced him to confront an internal question familiar to anyone attempting something new: What will people think?
Mr Kumar believes that fear of criticism often prevents people from exploring their creative interests.
“I think we have to live only once, so let’s do it.”
Connecting With the Next Generation
Even as Devyani marks his entry into cinema, Ashwani Kumar says public service remains his primary choice. His current focus also includes using technology to connect with young people and create opportunities for them.
He has worked with interns, exposed students to government programmes and companies, and encouraged them to develop practical skills. Last year, one of his interns filed a patent, while another student created a website that was doing useful work during floods.
He is now looking at ways to bring more young engineers into government departments so that they can observe how systems work and offer suggestions based on fresh perspectives.
His interest in the younger generation is also evident in his interactions with students. During one interaction with around 300 students, more than half of whom were girls, he spoke to them about setting ambitious goals rather than limiting themselves by geography.
“Keep a high aim; the smaller aims will automatically be achieved.”
That philosophy connects closely with the message of Devyani. Whether it is a young person choosing a career or a girl deciding how far she wants to go, Mr Kumar believes the first requirement is the freedom to imagine something bigger.
A Film, But Also a Conversation
Devyani may be Ashwani Kumar’s first step into cinema, but it brings together three aspects of his work and thinking—public service, communication and social change.
His belief is that conversations about women’s safety should not stop at protection. They should move towards capability, confidence and equal opportunity.
The ultimate goal is a society where girls do not have to calculate every movement outside their homes based on fear and where their ambitions are not narrowed by assumptions about what women can or cannot do.
For IAS officer Ashwani Kumar, storytelling provides a way to start that conversation.
And Devyani is his first attempt to put that idea on screen.
Also Read – Listen, Diagnose, Deliver : What Medicine Taught This IAS Officer About Delivering Better Governance
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