He might have failed to bag the Oscar but filmmaker Ashvin Kumar is hoping to target the US market with his next films.

Kumar, whose 15-minute "Little Terrorist" was nominated for the Oscars this year, will release his first full-length feature "The Forest" in the US in January.

No Bollywood for him, said Kumar.

"I will never make song and dance Bollywood films but I want to make commercially successful international films. Films that make money in dollars and pounds," said the 31-year-old director in an interview.

"Films are a global medium. We have good facilities, location and talent for filmmaking in India but what is required is a leap of imagination to produce quality films. As a filmmaker, I feel that my first responsibility is to my investors and to their creative satisfaction."

Work on the 100-minute "The Forest" would begin in June and would be completed by the end of November. The film has Irrfan Khan and the young boy Salim, the protagonist of "Little Terrorist", in lead roles.

Set in jungles of India, the film talks about conservation issues. "Unlike wild life films, it discusses forest issues. It exports Indian jungles," said Kumar, the son of fashion designer Ritu Kumar.

Ashvin started his career in 2002 with the short film "Road to Ladakh" with Irrfan Khan and Koel Purie. The film would now be remade with Irrfan and a mainstream Bollywood actress.

"It is a story about an American woman journalist coming to India to interview an army general but she falls in love with a terrorist not knowing that he is a terrorist. It will be important in the present political climate," said Kumar, who has a degree in Media and Communications at Goldsmith's College, University of London.

He also attended the London Film School.

"The Indian film market is not even one percent of the global film market. My films will feature Indian characters and will explore Indian issues.

"You may ask who will be interested in films based on Indian issues will be accepted but there are lot of people who are interested in such films," Kumar, 31, said.

"Films made in Japan, China and Latin America get fabulous response in US. There is a viable market for subtitle films that reflect the culture of the countries where they are made. In fact there are different viable markets. There is a market for kids films, for art films, for horror films and for sci-fi films."

About missing the Oscar, Kumar said: "I really thought it was a good chance of winning. So I can't hide that I was disappointed over not getting it.

"But I am delighted to have an opportunity of making Oscar nominated film in the early stage of my career."

He is also pleased that his short films had generated keen interest among filmmakers about the need for short films. "Short films should become a rite of passage for every new filmmaker in India, like it is in the West," he said.

He argues that filmmaking involves lot of money of others.

"The filmmakers should develop something out of commercial consideration. Commercial success is important but you should get your act together. You should develop right skills," he said.

Kumar also said that the response to the commercial release in New Delhi, Mumbai and Pune of "Little Terrorist" had been very enthusiastic.

"People came to it because it was nominated for the Oscars. It was screened before films like 'Black'. This is the first time that such a thing has happened in Indian cinema," said Kumar.

The distribution company plans to release it in more cities. In three to four months, it will be released on television.