The medium-budget movie Phir Kabhi, starring Mithun Chakraborty and Dimple Kapadia, is going to give the big screen a miss. It will release directly on Video and Pay-Per-View DTH (Direct-To-Home) - the first Hindi film to be premiered directly on home entertainment platforms.

Co-produced by UTV Motion Pictures and Culture Company (I) Pvt Ltd, "Phir Kabhi" has been directed by V.K. Prakash. It will be released next week by Moser Baer Home Video on DVD and VCD, apart from simultaneously releasing on Pay-Per-View across all DTH platforms, according to a statement here Thursday.

"We want to experiment with our smaller movies, if there is a model to reach audiences directly in their homes, without investing in prints and advertising for a theatrical release, " said Amrita Pandey, VP (International Distribution & Syndication), UTV Motion Pictures.

"We believe that releasing 'Phir Kabhi' on Home Video and DTH directly, and simultaneously, is a unique means of delivering our content straight to the audience without a huge investment in advertising and prints, " she added.

Starring Mithun and Dimple in the lead, it is a love story about two childhood sweethearts who meet again in their twilight years.

"Releasing 'Phir Kabhi' directly on our platform... will start a new trend of films being made specifically for DTH audiences, " said Salil Kapoor, COO, Dishtv.

In the US and other western markets, a lot of films are released directly on DVD and are a major contributor to the Home Video business.

This is the first time a movie studio has decided to premiere a movie on home entertainment platforms instead of the traditional theatrical release route.

Industry insiders claim that UTV has taken the new step to avoid the huge flow of movies releasing in the second half of 2009.