Ismail Merchant
{{short description|Indian film producer (1936–2005)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ismail Merchant
| image = Ismail Merchant.jpg
| birthname = Ismail Noor Muhammad Abdul Rahman
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1936|12|25|df=y}}
| birth_place = Bombay, India
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2005|5|24|1936|12|26|df=y}}
| death_place = London, England
| resting_place = Mumbai, India
| yearsactive = 1960–2005
| occupation = Film producer, director
| alma_mater = University of Bombay
New York University
| partner = James Ivory (1961–2005; Merchant's death)
}}
Ismail Merchant (born Ismail Noor Muhammad Abdul Rahman; 25 December 1936 – 24 May 2005) was an Indian film producer. He worked for many years in collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions which included film director (and Merchant's longtime professional and domestic partner) James Ivory as well as screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Together they made acclaimed film adaptations from the novels of E.M. Forster and Henry James. Merchant received the BAFTA Award for Best Film for A Room with a View (1985), and Howards End (1992). He received Academy Award nominations for Best Live Action Short Film for The Creation of a Woman (1959) and for Best Picture for A Room with a View (1985), Howards End (1992), and The Remains of the Day (1993).
Early life and education
Born in Bombay (Mumbai) , Merchant was son of Hazra (née Memon) and Noor Mohamed Rehman, a Bombay textile dealer.{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/73/Ismail-Merchant.html |title=Ismail Merchant Biography (1936-) |website=Filmreference.com |access-date=2016-06-05}} He grew up speaking Gujarati, Urdu and Memoni fluently, and he later picked up Arabic and English while at school. When he was 11, he and his family were caught up in the 1947 partition of India. His father was the President of the Muslim League{{Citation needed|reason=The list of Muslim League presidents does not have his name|date=January 2025}} and refused to move to Pakistan. Merchant later said that he carried memories of "butchery and riots" into adulthood.cited in Cheek of the devil
As a child at the age of 9, Merchant delivered a speech about partition at a political rally in front of a crowd of 10,000.
At age 13, he developed a close friendship with actress Nimmi, who introduced him to studios in Bombay (the center of Hindi film industry). It was she who inspired his ambitious rise to stardom.{{cite book|last=Hirahara|first=Naomi|title=Distinguished Asian American business leaders|year=2003|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=Westport, Conn. [u.a.]|isbn=1573563447|page=135|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fN7_zps2kQUC&q=ismail%20merchant%2C%20memon&pg=PA135|edition=1. publ.|access-date=27 September 2013}}
Merchant studied at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai and received BA degree of University of Bombay. It was here he developed a love for movies. When he was 22, he moved to USA to study at New York University where he received an MBA degree. While in New York, he gave up his family name of Abdul Rehman for Merchant.{{Cite news|url=http://www.newsweek.com/ismail-merchant-1936-2005-120081|title=Ismail Merchant, 1936-2005|date=2005-06-05|work=Newsweek|access-date=2018-06-24|language=en}}
He supported himself by working as a messenger for the UN in New York and used this opportunity to persuade Indian delegates to fund his film projects. Of this experience, he said, "I was not intimidated by anyone or anything." Immersed in a new world of art and culture, it was here that Merchant discovered the films of Bengali director Satyajit Ray, as well as those of European artists such as Ingmar Bergman, Vittorio De Sica, and Federico Fellini.
In 1961, Merchant made a short film, The Creation of Woman. It was shown at the Cannes Film Festival and received an Academy Award nomination.
Merchant Ivory Productions
Merchant met American movie director James Ivory at a screening in New York of Ivory's documentary The Sword and the Flute in 1959. In May 1961, Merchant and Ivory formed the film production company Merchant Ivory Productions. Merchant and Ivory were long-term life partners.{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/844732341.html?dids=844732341:844732341&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=May+26%2C+2005&author=John+Horn&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Obituaries |title=Obituaries; Ismail Merchant, 68; Producer of Stylish, Popular Period Dramas |access-date=4 July 2008 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=26 May 2005 |first=John |last=Horn |archive-date=25 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725011950/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/844732341.html?dids=844732341:844732341&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=May+26%2C+2005&author=John+Horn&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Obituaries |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0580337/bio|title=Ismail Merchant : Biography|website=IMDb.com|access-date=2016-06-05}} Their professional and romantic partnership lasted 44 years, from 1961 until Merchant's death in 2005. They were both also involved with the gay composer Richard Robbins, with whom they collaborated on several films.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/mar/12/merchant-ivory-oscar-shocking-truth-emma-thompson-anthony-hopkins-howards-end?utm_term=65f132d2ad0c3ab84ad7c7ec72861a17&utm_campaign=GuardianTodayUK&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=GTUK_email |title= I got you an Oscar. Why do I need to pay you? |first= Ryan |last=Gilbey |date=12 March 2024 |work=The Guardian}}
The Guinness Book of World Records says theirs was the longest partnership in independent cinema history.{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4666855|title=Film Producer Ismail Merchant Dies|work=NPR.org|access-date=2018-06-24|language=en}} Until Merchant's death in 2005, they produced nearly 40 films, including a number of award winners. Novelist Ruth Prawer Jhabvala was the screenwriter for most of their productions.
In 1963, MIP premiered its first production, The Householder, based upon a novel by Jhabvala (who also wrote the screenplay). This feature became the first Indian-made film to be distributed internationally by a major American studio, Columbia Pictures. However, it wasn't until the 1970s that partnership "hit on a successful formula for studied, slow-moving pieces ... Merchant Ivory became known for their attention to tiny period detail and opulence of their sets".{{cite news|title=Obituary: Ismail Merchant|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1490737/Ismail-Merchant.html|access-date=17 February 2018|work=The Telegraph|date=26 May 2005}} Their first success in this style was Jhabvala's adaptation of Henry James's The Europeans.
In addition to producing, Merchant directed a number of films and two TV features. For TV, he directed a short feature entitled Mahatma and the Mad Boy, and a full-length feature, The Courtesans of Bombay, made for Britain's Channel Four. Merchant made his film directorial debut with 1993's In Custody based on a novel by Anita Desai, and starring Bollywood actor Shashi Kapoor. Filmed in Bhopal, India, it won National Awards from the Government of India for Best Production Design and Special Jury award for lead actor Shashi Kapoor. His second directing feature, The Proprietor, starred Jeanne Moreau, Sean Young, Jean-Pierre Aumont and Christopher Cazenove and was filmed on location in Paris, France.
Of his partnership with Ivory and Jhabvala, Merchant once commented: "It is a strange marriage we have at Merchant Ivory ... I am an Indian Muslim, Ruth is a German Jew, and Jim is a Protestant American. Someone once described us as a three-headed god. Maybe they should have called us a three-headed monster!"{{cite news| url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,60-1627804,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121213243/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,60-1627804,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=21 November 2008 | location=London | work=The Times | title=Ismail Merchant | date=26 May 2005}}
Cooking and writing
Merchant was fond of cooking, and he wrote several books including Ismail Merchant's Indian Cuisine, Ismail Merchant's Florence, Ismail Merchant's Passionate Meals,{{Cite news|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-7868-6015-9|title=Nonfiction Book Review:Ismail Merchant's Passionate Meals:The New Indian Cuisine for Fearless Cooks and Adventurous Eaters by Ismail Merchant, Author, Asmail Merchant, Author, Madhur Jaffrey, Adapted by Hyperion Books $27 (312p) ISBN 978-0-7868-6015-9|work=PublishersWeekly.com|access-date=2018-06-24|language=en}} and Ismail Merchant's Paris: Filming and Feasting in France. He also wrote books on filmmaking, including a book about the making of the film The Deceivers in 1988 titled Hullabaloo in Old Jeypur, and another about the making of The Proprietor called Once Upon a Time ... The Proprietor. His last book was entitled My Passage from India: A Filmmaker's Journey from Bombay to Hollywood and Beyond.{{Cite web|url=http://www.merchantivory.com/news-ismailbook.html|title=Merchant Ivory: My Passage from India - A Filmaker's Journey from Bombay to Hollywood and Beyond|website=www.merchantivory.com|access-date=2018-06-24}}
Death
Merchant died in Westminster, England{{cite web |url=http://www.findmypast.com/BirthsMarriagesDeaths.jsp |title= Births, Marriages and Deaths 1538 - 2006 |access-date=31 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090831050858/http://www.findmypast.com/BirthsMarriagesDeaths.jsp |archive-date=31 August 2009 }} aged 68, following surgery for abdominal ulcers.{{cite web|url=http://us.rediff.com/movies/2005/may/25ismail.htm |title=Ismail Merchant passes away at 68 |website=Us.rediff.com |date=2005-05-26 |access-date=2016-06-05}} He was buried in Bada Qabrastan Mumbai in Marine Lines, Mumbai, India on 28 May 2005, in keeping with his wish to be buried with his ancestors.
Filmography
=Producer=
=Director=
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
!scope="col" | Year !scope="col" | Title !scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes | ||
| 1974 | Mahatma and the Mad Boy | short |
| 1983 | The Courtesans of Bombay | docudrama |
| 1993 | In Custody | feature debut |
| 1995 | Lumière and Company | segment: Merchant Ivory, Paris Co-director with James Ivory |
| 1996 | The Proprietor | |
| 1999 | Cotton Mary | |
| 2001 | The Mystic Masseur |
=Actor=
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
!scope="col" | Year !scope="col" | Title !scope="col" | Role !scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes | |||
| 1963 | The Householder | Minor Role | uncredited |
| 1965 | Shakespeare Wallah | Theater Owner | uncredited |
| 1969 | The Guru | Master of Ceremonies | |
| 1970 | Bombay Talkie | Fate Machine Producer | |
| 1989 | Slaves of New York | Party Guest | uncredited |
| 1995 | Jefferson in Paris | Tipoo Sultan's Ambassador | |
| 2023 | Merchant Ivory | Himself |
Awards and nominations
In 2002 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India.{{cite web|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Awards |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |date=2015 |access-date=21 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=15 October 2015 }}
He was also a recipient of The International Center in New York's Award of Excellence.
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
!Year !Association !Category !Film !Result !class=unsortable|Ref. |
| 1960
| rowspan=4|Academy Awards | The Creation of a Woman | {{nom}} |
| 1985
| rowspan="3"|Best Picture | {{nom}} |
| 1992
| {{nom}} |
| 1993
| {{nom}} |
| 1983
|rowspan=4|British Academy Film Awards |rowspan="4"|Best Film |{{nom}} |
| 1985
| {{won}} |
| 1992
| {{won}} |
| 1993
| {{nom}} |
| 1985
| rowspan=3|Golden Globe Awards |rowspan="3"|Best Motion Picture – Drama | {{nom}} |
| 1992
| {{nom}} |
| 1993
| {{nom}} |
| 1992
|rowspan=2|Producers Guild of America Award |rowspan="2"|Best Theatrical Motion Picture | {{nom}} |
| 1993
| {{nom}} |
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- "Cheek of the devil, charm of an angel: Ismail Merchant, Producer, 1936–2005" (Obituary reprinted from Telegraph, London), in The Sydney Morning Herald, 2005-05-30, p. 41
External links
{{Wikiquote}}
- {{IMDb name|0580337|Ismail Merchant}}
- {{Screenonline name|id=532192|name=Ismail Merchant}}
- [http://www.merchantivory.com/ismail.html Biography from Merchant-Ivory Productions]
- [http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/features/20050529-9999-1a29merchant.html Merchant was the driving force behind a slew of creative movies]
- [http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050526/PEOPLE/50526001 Ismail Merchant: In Memory] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716191643/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20050526%2FPEOPLE%2F50526001 |date=16 July 2012 }}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Ismail Merchant
|list =
{{BAFTA Best Film recipients}}
{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 2000–09}}
}}
{{Merchant Ivory Productions}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merchant, Ismail}}
Category:British people of Indian descent
Category:St. Xavier's College, Mumbai alumni
Category:Film producers from Mumbai
Category:British film directors
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Category:Indian cookbook writers
Category:British people of Gujarati descent
Category:New York University Stern School of Business alumni
Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts
Category:Filmmakers who won the Best Film BAFTA Award
Category:Indian emigrants to England
Category:Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom
Category:Indian LGBTQ film directors
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Category:Indian LGBTQ rights activists
Category:Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Category:20th-century Indian LGBTQ people