Bhoothayanam: How a Malayalam Horror Short Turned Kerala's Empty Homes Into a Ghost Story

Bhoothayanam's poster. Image source: IMDb / Amazon Media

What if the most frightening thing inside an old Kerala house isn't a ghost, but loneliness?

That question sits at the heart of Bhoothayanam, a Malayalam horror short film directed by Tony Davis. On the surface, it is a supernatural story featuring veteran actor KPAC Leela and child actor Vriddhi Vishal. But the story behind the film is perhaps even more interesting than the horror itself.

The film grew out of something very real: Kerala's increasingly familiar image of large ancestral houses occupied by ageing parents while their children live abroad or far away.

The Ghost Story Began With a Real Kerala Problem

Tony Davis and writer Pratheek Thomas were initially struggling to develop a thriller. Then an article describing Kumbanad as a "ghost town" gave Davis the idea that eventually became Bhoothayanam.

The image stayed with him: enormous houses with only one or two elderly people living inside them, while their children had moved away, often overseas.

Instead of treating that reality as a social drama, the filmmakers turned it into horror.

The house itself becomes a character — a place filled with memories, absence and things left unsaid.

That is what makes Bhoothayanam different from a conventional horror short. The supernatural element is built around an emotional reality that many Malayalis can immediately recognise.

It Wasn't Always Called Bhoothayanam

The film originally had the English title The Forever Secret. The filmmakers eventually decided that the movie needed a Malayalam title rather than a direct translation.

The final title, Bhoothayanam, was suggested by cinematographer Uma Kumarapuram, who also happens to be Tony Davis's longtime collaborator.

According to Davis, the word can suggest both a journey of a ghost and a journey into the past — an especially fitting description for a film where memories and the supernatural constantly overlap.

Why Tony Davis Wanted Vriddhi Vishal

One of the most important creative decisions was the casting of Riya, the young hearing-and-speech-impaired character at the centre of the story.

Davis had been following Vriddhi Vishal's work since she was eight and specifically felt that she had the ability to communicate emotion through her eyes.

That was particularly important for this character because the performance depended heavily on visual expression rather than conventional dialogue.

The filmmakers also brought in sign-language specialist Vyshnevi Maya S during pre-production to help ensure that the character's portrayal was handled with greater authenticity and care.

KPAC Leela Was Always in Tony Davis's Mind

For the role of Mary, the elderly grandmother, Davis had KPAC Leela in mind from the beginning.

He had seen her performances in films including Roudram 2018 and Pookkaalam and felt that she possessed the maternal warmth, vulnerability and emotional depth the role required.

Interestingly, Bhoothayanam became part of a fascinating horror phase in Leela's later career. After returning to acting following a long break, she found herself increasingly associated with unsettling and supernatural characters.

In a 2026 interview, Leela herself noted that her role in Bhoothayanam was one of the performances she particularly enjoyed, even as audiences increasingly began associating her with horror.

A Short Film Made Like a Feature

Tony Davis with members of the Bhoothayanam team. Image: Cinema Express

Bhoothayanam runs for around 18 minutes, but the production was considerably larger than its runtime might suggest.

Davis says the film was shot over five days with a crew of around 50 people. He described the commitment required from the team as being closer to making a feature film than a conventional short.

The project was completed on RED Digital Cinema and lists a production budget of approximately US$16,000 on its FilmFreeway profile.

The technical team included cinematographer Uma Kumarapuram, editor Saiju Sreedharan, composer Sidharth Satheesh, sound designer Nikhil Varma and art director Ashif Edayadan.

The Film Almost Took a Different Route

After completing the film, the team hoped to take Bhoothayanam through the festival circuit, including the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala.

It wasn't selected.

Instead of allowing the film to disappear, the team looked for a digital platform that could give it a larger audience. That eventually led to Bhavana Studios, the YouTube channel associated with filmmakers Dileesh Pothan, Syam Pushkaran and Fahadh Faasil.

The film was released online in December 2025 and quickly found an audience. Cinema Express reported that it crossed one lakh views and generated discussion around ageing parents, migration and Kerala's increasingly empty ancestral homes.

The Horror Was Never Really About Ghosts

This may be the most interesting thing about Bhoothayanam.

The filmmakers don't present a conventional battle between good and evil. The story is driven by loneliness, attachment and the fear of being forgotten.

Davis has described the film as a reflection of the society around him, rather than a story with clearly defined villains.

That approach explains why the horror works differently. The ancestral home isn't scary simply because something supernatural might be hiding inside it. It is scary because the people who once filled it have slowly disappeared.

Watch Bhoothayanam

The complete short film was released through the BHAVANA STUDIOS YouTube channel. It is around 18 minutes long and combines supernatural horror with a story about family, migration and loneliness.

And There May Be More to This Story

Bhoothayanam may not remain a short film.

Tony Davis and Pratheek Thomas have begun developing the idea into a full-length feature film. That makes the short particularly interesting in retrospect: what began as an attempt to crack a thriller script could eventually become the foundation for a much larger Malayalam film.

For now, Bhoothayanam stands as a fascinating example of how a very local Kerala reality can become the foundation for a horror story — without relying on the usual jump scares and supernatural clichés.

Sometimes, the most unsettling ghost story is simply the story of a house that has been waiting too long for someone to come home.