A mobile phone game inspired by the Malayalam movie ‘Vilayath Budha’

Vilayath Budha: The Sandalwood Survival, an open-world mobile crippled released successful February, has galore firsts to its credit. Not lone is it perchance India’s archetypal movie-inspired open-world crippled (for mobiles), it is besides a first-of-its-kind collaboration betwixt a accumulation house, Urvasi Theatres, and gaming company, Offline Human Studios. It besides features Prithviraj Sukumaran, 1 of the archetypal actors from South India successful a crippled specified arsenic this.

The Malayalam movie Vilayath Budha, released successful 2025 and based connected the eponymous caller by GR Indugopan, is astir a sandal wood smuggler Double Mohanan, his mentor, Bhaskaran Master and a sandalwood tree, Vilayath Budha. Prithviraj essays Mohanan.  

Karthik Suresh, 1 of the co-founders of Offline Human Studios, says, “We are attempting thing antithetic with the crippled Vilayath Budha. There is simply a cognition that this is simply a promotion for the film. It is not. Usually, games are released astir a film’s release, similar precocious for Chatha Pacha. But not our game.” 

The movie was released successful November 2025, portion the aboriginal entree to the crippled (for downloads) was opened lone successful the archetypal week of February, 2026. However, it has been successful the works for much than six months.

Offroading-based game

Offline Human Studios wanted to make a crippled astir a acquainted rubric that would not lone person recall, arsenic successful this case, but besides physique a satellite astir it. It helped that they were besides looking guardant to making an off-roading-based game. Since the movie was changeable mostly successful Marayoor, Idukki, they could showcase the lush earthy quality of Kerala. 

Karthik explains, “With an unfastened satellite crippled we tin make a satellite which a gamer tin explore, they tin spell anyplace successful the beingness of the game. The satellite is unfastened to you to explore, successful Vilayath Budha you tin bash it successful the jeep which is besides a quality successful the film.” 

Profit stock with producers

It could get hard convincing a shaper astir the idea, but Urvasi Theatres were connected committee from the get-go, helium adds. “This is simply a root of gross for a accumulation house/producer beyond the merchandise of a movie. If the movie does good astatine the container office, the crippled volition benefit, and adjacent if it does not, the crippled tin inactive make revenue.” We knew them, Sandeep and Sangeeth Senan, from earlier, truthful it was casual to attack them; different producers whitethorn not privation to instrumentality the risk. It helped that Sangeeth is besides a gamer.” Offline Human Studios has a profit-share statement with Urvasi Theatres. They besides person the IP (Intellectual Property) consent to usage the rubric of the book, Prithviraj’s look and assets from the film. 

Rather than merchandise the game, Karthik says, they chose to springiness aboriginal entree truthful that gamers could acquisition it and springiness their feedback astir what they would similar successful the adjacent update. When it is released aboriginal this year, it volition travel retired with a implicit storyline, the entree for present permits ‘exploration’ of smaller spaces and not the full beingness of the game.  

Although inspired by a Malayalam film, the lingua franca of the crippled is ‘neutral’ — English. Having Prithviraj successful the crippled helps the crippled due to the fact that the histrion has a pan-India appeal. “Those accessing the game  whitethorn not cognize the character, Double Mohanan oregon the movie but they cognize Prithviraj, and for them it is simply a crippled featuring him, that adds a curiosity origin arsenic well,” Karthik adds. 

Offline Human Studios was formed successful 2023 by Sharath Ravi, his brothers, Sanil and Sangeeth, isolated from Karthik and Nithin Neena, friends who emotion to play video/mobile games. They were among 10 Indian companies astatine the 2025 Tokyo Game Show, wherever they showcased Fighter: 3D Pandavas, a warring crippled inspired by the Mahabharata.