My banner will be known for making socially-relevant movies: Harish Sherigar

Decades after moving to Dubai, Mangalurean entrepreneur Harish Sherigar’s love for films saw him turn producer with a Kannada film, March 22, under his banner ACME Movies International. The intention, he had said, was to make good films with socially-relevant messages within the parameters of commercial cinema, an ideology he has stuck to with his next production, Hottegagi Genu Battegagi (HGB), which hits theatres this Friday.
The film, directed by Narendra Babu, sees Harish reunite with veteran actor Anant Nag, with whom he had collaborated on March 22. “During the making and subsequent promotions of March 22, Anant and his wife became fairly close to me and my family. In fact, he even stayed with us in Mangaluru for a week and remains in touch. When the team of HGB was looking for a place to shoot their foreign schedule, Anant reached out to me as he thought Dubai was a good bet. As it turns out, the production house had run into some financial turmoil, and I stepped in, initially for the Dubai portion, but eventually for the rest of the film,” explains Harish.
Given the subject and message in March 22, which won a National Award for Best Lyrics, Harish admits that he expected it to do well at the box office, which it didn’t. He has no regrets, but tells us that it has made him wiser in the world of cinema. “I am not a hands-on producer. My bread and butter is in Dubai. I will invest in films that I believe in and hope that I will get returns to be able to take the process forward and make many more films,” says Harish, adding, “One thing I have learnt is that I have to look at films from a commercial viewpoint. Message-oriented films are OK for awards. I now look for stories that will appeal to the youth as they comprise 60% of the movie-watching audience.”
Up next, the filmmaker will present actor Jai Jagadish’s Yaana, which is directed by Vijayalakshmi Singh. “I am also keen to do Tulu movies and am looking at good scripts to associate with,” Harish signs off.