Abundantia aiON and InVideo Announce Beta Builder, an AI-Enabled Film Set Between Dharavi and the Metaverse
Abundantia aiON, the AI-powered creative studio division of Abundantia Entertainment, has announced Beta Builder as its first film project with video technology company InVideo. Based on Sukriti YJ’s novel Beta Builder: Mumbai in the Metaverse, the film will launch a slate of AI-driven productions being developed through the partnership.
The collaboration is backed by a reported joint corpus of Rs. 100 crore. The partners describe Beta Builder as the first title in a wider programme of films that will explore how artificial intelligence can support filmmaking while keeping human creativity and storytelling at the centre.
A Dharavi architect dreams beyond the physical world
Beta Builder follows Jai, a self-taught architectural talent from Dharavi whose imagination and skill earn him an opportunity to design in a virtual-reality world. The new environment appears to offer a route to recognition and a chance to realise ambitions that have been difficult to pursue in the real world. But Jai soon discovers that success is not simply a matter of proving his abilities.
As he navigates the virtual landscape, Jai must confront the systems that have limited his prospects, fight for the person he loves and help ensure that his community has a say in shaping its future. The story’s central question is not only whether Jai can succeed, but what success means when the people and place that shaped him risk being left behind.
That contrast gives the project a distinctive foundation: Dharavi, one of Mumbai’s most recognisable neighbourhoods, set against a digital world with seemingly limitless possibilities. The film brings together themes of ambition, identity, belonging and representation, using a speculative setting to examine issues that remain rooted in everyday life.
AI as a filmmaking tool, not a replacement for storytellers
The film is being developed under Abundantia aiON’s “Human-First, AI-Empowered” philosophy. According to the studio, the approach places human authorship and creative direction at the heart of production, while using AI tools across different stages of the filmmaking process—from development through to the screen.
The announcement reflects a broader shift in the entertainment industry, where generative and video-based AI technologies are being explored for their potential to support visualisation, production workflows and creative experimentation. Their use also raises important questions about authorship, artistic control and how new tools can be incorporated responsibly. Abundantia aiON and InVideo’s stated model positions the technology as an enabler, with people remaining responsible for the story and its creative choices.
For a project that moves between a real Mumbai neighbourhood and an imagined virtual environment, that combination could offer particular creative scope. AI-assisted techniques may help filmmakers build or visualise digital spaces, while the film’s emotional grounding depends on Jai’s relationships, choices and connection to his community.
Vikram Malhotra calls the film a defining project for aiON
Vikram Malhotra, founder and CEO of Abundantia Entertainment, said Beta Builder represents the kind of storytelling the studio was created to pursue. He described it as a human story that begins in an iconic part of Mumbai and travels into a world that does not yet exist—an idea that brings together the film’s subject matter and its technology-led production approach.
Malhotra highlighted Jai’s ambition, identity and determination to build something larger than himself, saying the project puts the “Human-First, AI-Empowered” philosophy into practice. He also indicated that the film is only the beginning of what Abundantia aiON and InVideo intend to create together.
A broader AI film slate is in development
Beta Builder is the first announced project in a slate of AI-driven films planned by Abundantia aiON and InVideo over the next three years. The wider programme is expected to include both fully AI-generated features and hybrid productions that combine live-action filmmaking with AI-enabled elements. The partners have said titles from the slate are expected to begin rolling out from the first quarter of 2027.
The announcement describes the partnership as a substantial long-term investment in new production methods, although details about the film’s cast, director, release platform and production schedule have not yet been disclosed. Those details will help clarify how the creative approach translates into a finished feature and how the project will reach audiences.
For viewers following the intersection of Bollywood and emerging technology, the project is notable for pairing a locally rooted story with a futuristic setting. Rather than treating AI as the subject alone, Beta Builder is also being developed with AI as part of its production process—a distinction that may shape how audiences understand the film’s visual world and creative identity.
Abundantia Entertainment’s expanding screen portfolio
Founded in 2013, Abundantia Entertainment has produced a varied catalogue of films and series, including Baby, Airlift, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, Shakuntala Devi, Sherni and the Chhorii franchise. Its television and streaming work includes titles such as Breathe, Daldal, Subedaar and Maa Behen.
With aiON, the company is extending that work into a new production space. Beta Builder will test how an AI-enabled studio can bring together technology, commercial filmmaking and a story shaped by place and community. Its eventual impact will depend not just on the tools used, but on whether Jai’s journey feels authentic—and whether the film gives its central ideas the depth they deserve.
