Chennai, June 20 : Actor Kamal Hassan has plans to produce, direct and act in 30 short films, which would be based on his hometown Chennai.

"It would be about 30 short films about this city called Chennai. We will begin with Chennai, we will go to other cities as well. We are not making documentaries. It''s about the fictional world of writers as they look at Chennai," said Kamal Hassan, during a media briefing.

Oscar winning French scriptwriter, Jean Claude Carriere, will guide some of these short films.

Scriptwriters for the film will be handpicked from participants of the recently concluded Chennai International Screenwriting Workshop.

Carriere highlighted that the Indian film industry needs to stop focusing on Bollywood, in order to showcase its vast culture.

"When people in France and America talk about Indian films they only talk about Bollywood. It's a big mistake, as rest of the Indian production is extremely interesting- from Kerala to Bengal to Tamil Nadu. It''s extremely important, but we don''t talk about it. That could be the next step to go for the Indian industry," said Jean Claude Carriere.

The project is likely to go on floors by March 2010. (ANI)