Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah, who has been in the Hindi film industry for over three decades, believes documentaries are essential as they are the only form of cinema which depict facts as they are.

"I think documentaries are very important because they can present the picture of life as it is without any dramatisation, without any elaboration. They are the only form of cinema which can be truthful in their presentation," the 62-year-old said here.

"Films which tell stories always have a tendency to lapse into fantasy, which is why I believe that the form of documentary is more significant in the long run than film making," he added.

He spoke on the sidelines of the DVD launch of "Bombay: Our City" and "War and Peace" by acclaimed documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan here Wednesday.

Naseeruddin feels sad about the depreciating number of documentaries being made nowadays.

"It's a pity that so few people are making documentaries on subjects of importance and that's why I admire Anand Patwardhan's work so much that he does; makes films on issues which matter to him," Naseeruddin said.