Ismail Merchant facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ismail Merchant
Born	Ismail Noor Muhammad Abdul Rahman (1936-12-25)25 December 1936 Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British Raj
Died	25 May 2005(2005-05-25) (aged 68) London, England, UK
Resting place	Mumbai, India
Citizenship	Indian
Alma mater	University of Bombay New York University
Occupation	Producer Director ScreenWriter
Years active	1960–2005
Partner(s)	James Ivory (1961–2005; Merchant's death)

Ismail Merchant (born Ismail Noor Muhammad Abdul Rahman, 25 December 1936 – 25 May 2005) was an Indian film producer, director, and screenwriter. He was famous for his work with Merchant Ivory Productions. This company included director James Ivory, who was also his long-time partner, and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala.

Early Life and Learning

Ismail Merchant was born in Bombay (now Mumbai). His father was a textile dealer. Ismail grew up speaking Gujarati and Urdu. He also learned Arabic and English at school.

When he was 11, his family experienced the 1947 partition of India. This event divided India into two separate countries, India and Pakistan. His father was a leader in the Muslim League but chose to stay in India. Merchant later said he remembered the "butchery and riots" from that time.

At age 9, Ismail gave a speech about the partition to a crowd of 10,000 people. When he was 13, he became good friends with actress Nimmi. She showed him around the film studios in Bombay, which was the heart of the Hindi film industry. She inspired him to dream big in the movie world.

Merchant studied at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai. Here, he fell in love with movies. At 22, he moved to the USA to study at New York University. He earned a business degree there. While in New York, he changed his family name from Abdul Rehman to Merchant. He worked as a messenger for the United Nations to pay for his studies. He even used this job to convince Indian leaders to fund his film projects! He once said, "I was not intimidated by anyone or anything." In New York, he discovered films by famous directors like Satyajit Ray, Ingmar Bergman, and Federico Fellini.

In 1961, Merchant made a short film called The Creation of Woman. It was shown at the Cannes Film Festival and was even nominated for an Academy Award.

Merchant Ivory Productions

Ismail Merchant met American film director James Ivory in 1959. They met at a film screening in New York. In May 1961, Merchant and Ivory started their own film company, Merchant Ivory Productions (MIP). Merchant and Ivory were partners in life and work for 44 years, until Merchant's death in 2005.

The Guinness Book of World Records says their partnership was the longest in the history of independent cinema. They made almost 40 films together, and many of them won awards. Novelist Ruth Prawer Jhabvala wrote the screenplays for most of their movies.

In 1963, MIP released its first film, The Householder. It was based on a book by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, who also wrote the movie script. This film was special because it was the first Indian-made movie to be shown around the world by a major American studio, Columbia Pictures.

In the 1970s, their company became known for making beautiful, detailed films. Merchant Ivory films were famous for their amazing historical accuracy and rich sets. Their first big success with this style was The Europeans, based on a novel by Henry James.

Besides producing, Merchant also directed several films and two TV shows. He directed a short TV film called Mahatma and the Mad Boy. He also directed a full-length TV film for Britain's Channel Four. His first feature film as a director was In Custody (1993). It starred Bollywood actor Shashi Kapoor. This film won awards from the Government of India. His second film, The Proprietor, was filmed in Paris, France.

Merchant once described his partnership with Ivory and Jhabvala in a funny way: "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!"

Cooking and Writing

Ismail Merchant loved to cook. He even wrote several cookbooks! Some of his books include Ismail Merchant's Indian Cuisine and Ismail Merchant's Passionate Meals. He also wrote books about making movies. These include Hullabaloo in Old Jeypur and Once Upon a Time... The Proprietor. His last book was called My Passage from India: A Filmmaker's Journey from Bombay to Hollywood and Beyond.

Selected Filmography

Director

Producer

Actor

Awards and Honors

In 2002, Ismail Merchant received the Padma Bhushan. This is the third-highest award given to civilians in India. He also received the Award of Excellence from The International Center in New York.

Academy Awards

British Academy Film Awards

Death

Ismail Merchant passed away in Westminster, England, at the age of 68. This happened after surgery for stomach ulcers. He was buried in Bada Qabrastan Mumbai in Marine Lines, Mumbai, India, on May 28, 2005. This was his wish, to be buried with his family.