India's Oscar-nominated "Little Terrorist" will become the first short film to get a commercial release at home.

The 15-minute movie has been picked up for distribution by Mumbai-based Shringar Films, making it the first short film to be selected for commercial release.

The film will get full theatrical release in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune, Bangalore and would be shown in theatres before or between two shows of full-length films.

"This is a path-breaking thing," the film's director Ashvin Kumar tells. "I hope this will bring many aspiring filmmakers out of the woodwork.

"Shorts (short films) should become a rite of passage for every new filmmaker in India, like it is in the West."

The distributors were hoping to sell 10 prints across the country but landed up selling that number in Mumbai itself. "It's a great experience," said Kumar.

"Of course, the Oscar nomination fuelled this but it is also because of the boom in multiplexes in India."

The film traces the journey of a young Pakistani boy who accidentally crosses the border between India and Pakistan in pursuit of his cricket ball and is instantly branded a terrorist by security forces.

Made with a shoestring budget of 15,000 pounds, Kumar got the crew for the film by posting an ad on the Internet. He has said the film is his reaction to the India-Pakistan conflict.

Kumar's next film would be a full-length feature tentatively called "The Forest" and would star Irrfan Khan.

"It has a very strong conservation message. I've been going to forests since I was a child and wanted to make a film about how urban people react to nature," said Kumar, whose new film has a budget of $1.6 million.

On the cards is also a remake of "Road To Ladakh", his first film about strangers who meet during a journey to the Himalayan heights of Ladakh. This film has a budget of $4 million and again stars Irrfan Khan.