'I could kill for Masseur'

ismail merchant needs no introduction. his partnership with director james ivory is the stuff of legend. the duo has become synonymous with quality productions and faithful celluloid adaptations from novels. but over the past few years the director in merchant has come to the fore. the mystic masseur, which had its india premiere at the just-concluded kolkata film festival, is merchant's fourth directorial venture. his other films include cotton mary and in custody. the mystic masseur, starring om puri, ayesha dharker and aasif mandvi, has already been shown at several festivals. it will be released in india early next year. merchant speaks about the film and his future plans. what made you decide to film the mystic masseur? i had read v s naipaul's the mystic masseur several ago. six years back, i re-read it. i was taken up with the characters and found the book enchanting. i was so drawn to the novel that i wanted to make a film on it. when that happens i am even willing to commit a few murders to do it! how difficult was it to get v.s. naipaul to agree to the film? i had initially written a letter to naipaul saying that i wanted to film the mystic masseur. when i wanted to meet him he said, 'your persuasive powers are legendary. talk to my agent.' after discussing it with naipaul's agent we bought the rights to the novel. has naipaul seen the film? though it was screened at the london film festival naipaul has not seen it. he is, in fact, very anxious to see the film. was the move from production to direction difficult? it was not that difficult after watching james ivory so closely and producing so many films. you have a reputation for working with a tight budget. when i am producing the film i am always thinking on how to save money. the important thing is to inject discipline in the people working with you - in every member of the team. we shot the mystic masseur in eight weeks, seven in trinidad and one in oxford. your partnership with ivory has been a long one. at one festival it was announced that we had made over 500 films! we have actually made 46 films together. the numbers do not matter. but we have built up such a reputation that no one refuses us. next year will be the fortieth year of our partnership and in february 2002 there will be a big festival of our films at barbician. the opening film will be the mystic masseur. what's coming up next from the merchant ivory stable? we are finishing up our latest film merci dr rey. it is set in paris and we hope it ready for next year's cannes film festival.