AI Video Company Turns to Real Actors for Its First Feature Film
InVideo begins shooting Beta Builder with Mayur More and Ashlesha Thakur, combining real actors and AI technology in a new film partnership.
An artificial intelligence company best known for generating videos through software is moving into feature filmmaking with real actors, as production begins on a new movie combining conventional live-action filming with AI-generated material.
Beta Builder began principal photography in Mumbai on 29 October 2026, starring Mayur More and Ashlesha Thakur in a production developed by Abundantia Entertainment and AI video company InVideo.
The project brings an unusual arrangement to filmmaking, with InVideo’s global creative lead, Hridaye A. Nagpal, directing the feature while the company contributes technology and financial backing through a wider production partnership.
What Is Beta Builder About?
Based on Sukriti YJ’s novel Beta Builder: Mumbai in the Metaverse, the film follows Jai, a gifted self-taught architect from Dharavi whose ambitions extend far beyond the opportunities available in his everyday surroundings.
His imagination finds an outlet in a virtual reality world where he can construct the buildings and environments he dreams of creating, bringing his personal ambitions into conflict with the realities of the life he knows.
Mayur More, recognised for his role in Netflix’s Kota Factory, leads the production alongside Ashlesha Thakur, who appeared in Amazon Prime Video’s The Family Man.
The story’s relationship between physical surroundings and virtual environments provides an interesting foundation for a film combining real-world performances with emerging production technology.
However, the filmmakers have not confirmed which scenes will incorporate AI-generated imagery, and no specific breakdown of the production methods has been released.
AI Company Takes Creative Control Behind the Camera
InVideo’s involvement extends beyond providing software, with Nagpal taking responsibility for directing a film featuring established performers and conventional principal photography.
The company acquired his creative studio, GoBo Labs, in February 2026, bringing his experience in AI-assisted production into its wider creative operations.
Nagpal’s position is particularly significant because he is responsible for developing creative applications of InVideo’s technology while also directing the actors and overseeing the film’s artistic execution.
Abundantia Entertainment is producing Beta Builder through aiON, its division focused on productions combining traditional storytelling with artificial intelligence.
The collaboration places a company specialising in AI video generation directly inside the creative and production process, rather than leaving the technology entirely in the hands of an external software supplier.
Five Films Planned Under Major Investment Deal
The wider partnership between Abundantia and InVideo was announced in February 2026, with plans to develop five AI-assisted feature films over three years.
The companies have outlined a commitment of 100 crore Indian rupees, approximately 10.5 million US dollars, towards the wider production arrangement.
That figure does not represent the budget for Beta Builder, which has not been disclosed, and the financial arrangements for individual productions have not been detailed publicly.
The project will explore how generative AI can operate alongside human performers, directors and production crews, although the companies have not established whether its approach will reduce costs compared with conventional filmmaking.
When Will Beta Builder Be Released?
No confirmed release date, distributor or streaming platform has been announced for Beta Builder, although the wider aiON slate is expected to begin delivering projects during 2027.
The filmmakers have also not revealed which AI models will be used, how much of the finished feature will be computer-generated or whether the other planned productions will adopt the same techniques.
Those details will provide a clearer picture of what the partnership can deliver once production advances, particularly as the companies move beyond software demonstrations into commercial feature filmmaking.
