<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br /><img align="right" src="/photo/473965.cms" alt="/photo/473965.cms" border="0" />Bombay-born producer Ismail Merchant is one half of the prolific "Merchant-Ivory" team, responsible for an oeuvre of thoughtful independent films. The team has produced many critically-acclaimed films, including <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Room With a View, Cotton Mary, Shakespearewallah, Remains Of The Day</span>.
<br /><br />Timesofindia.com caught up with the producer, who was on a tour in India to promote his latest film, <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Le Divorce</span>.<br /><br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">What is the running theme/essence in Merchant- Ivory films?</span><br /><br />A Merchant Ivory movie has to have a very good story, the characters have to be very interesting, it has to have a cross cultural theme where people from a particular culture are coming and absorbing into another. Our movies in totality hit the right note.<br /><br />Besides, we coined the genre of ''Independent Cinema'', which is now followed by movie makers all over the world. We started MIP (Merchant Ivory Productions) in 1961 and have been following a very definite line of thought for over forty years now. <br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">What makes a Merchant- Ivory film click with the international audience. Why do you think your partnership with James Ivory and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala has been so successful?</span> <br /><br />Right from the <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Householder</span> in 1963 to <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Le Divorce</span>, which we have just released, our movies have spelled a great amount of satisfaction for the audience. We have just been growing in terms of the number of countries we are showing them in. It''s this attitude of appealing to a large audience that has brought in so much success for us.<br /><br />As for our partnership, the three of us share the same vision, respect each other we share the sensibilities of the three different continents we come from. <br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">What''s your take on Bollywood''s crossover potential?</span><br /><br />Bollywood has great potential, as long as they have good stories. We need to propagate our culture abroad. I think Farhan Akhtar, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Karan Johar and Rahul Bose can do this for us. <br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"></div> <div align="left" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="left" border="1" width="35.6%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img align="right" src="/photo/473966.cms" alt="/photo/473966.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">Promo from the film </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-style:="" italic="">Le Divorce</span></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold=""><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script></span><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">You are credited with bringing India into the consciousness of English and American filmgoers. Why did you decide to film the first few Merchant Ivory films in India?</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">I always wanted to start my career with India, and the story had to have Indian reflections and that''s why for the first decade, we were making films here. Take</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic=""> Shakespearewallah</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold=""> and </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Bombay Talkies</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">, which were shot here and became all-time classics. We wanted a flavour of Bombay cinema in our movies. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">India is not a huge market for your films? Why?</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">We have made films with an Indian theme like the Householder, but it cannot appeal to the Indian audience since they are too sophisticated for them. There is an audience here, but only in the large cities. We have to make a movie with a special brand for the typical Indian viewer. Right now we are making movies only for the international audience and not too keen on the domestic market.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">The ''70s saw Merchant- Ivory move away from Indian subjects to International subjects? ''70s also saw a shift to adaptations of literary classics. Tell us about this transition.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">I was totally enchanted by Henry James''s book, </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">European</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">, and we saw a great theme for a movie in that. The characters were American and European which were so prevalent at that time. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Preservation of language seems to be an important theme in your work. Elaborate.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Language is a very important aspect in making movies, and Bengali and Urdu are extremely graceful and poetic. I have always been stressed on great use of language in my films, specially French, Persian, Bengali and Urdu, since it adds a to the entire aura. </span><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section3"><div class="Normal"><br /><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script></div> <div align="left" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="left" border="1" width="35.6%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img align="right" src="/photo/473967.cms" alt="/photo/473967.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">Merchant with Hudson on the </span><br /><span style="" font-size:="">sets of </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-style:="" italic="">Le Divorce</span></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Tell us a bit about your latest film with Matthew Modine, </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Le Divorce</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Le Divorce </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">is a comedy depicting the complexity of two cultures, based on Diane Johnson''s bestseller. It''s shot at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It is has a very strong cast of Naomi Watts, Kate Hudson, Glen Close and Leslie Caron. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Where are you on those plans of making a Bollywood musical ?</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">It is coming along. The music is composed by Zakir Husain and it will be released next year at the Westend and Broadway. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">The one thread connecting all Merchant-Ivory films is that they are an exploration of cultural displacement, the discomfort in cultural boundaries, and the uneasiness of interactions between different cultures and classes. Do you agree? </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">It depends on one''s perspective. In our films there is both attraction and distraction. There is also fascination for exploration of different values and cultures, so we are talking of several elements of culture. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">How do you manage the grandeur that Merchant Ivory Production films are so famous for, with a small budget?</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">That''s the Indian magic- The Rope Trick, which I can''t share with you. </span><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section4"><div class="Normal"><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">There''s word that William Dalrymple is writing a script for your film on Lady Chatterlay''s Lover, which will be called something like Lady Chatterjee''s lover? Tell us a bit about this project, its cast etc</span><br /><br />I had an idea and asked William to do the script. It''s ready but I have yet to see the treatment, but if it''s ok, we''ll go ahead with it. It is a comedy set in England and reflects the success of Indians in England. <br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Which are your forthcoming projects?</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">The White Countess</span>, set in China with Ray Fiennes, <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">City of Your Final Destination</span> is set in Argentina by Peter Cameroon, and Heights starring Glen Close, James Marsden, Elizabeth Banks, Isabella Rossellini and George Seagal, which will be released in June. <br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Is there any film / theme that you feel you should have made? </span><br /><br />I want to make a film on Partition, which has affected our sub-continent, a division we are saddled with and the discomfort between India and Pakistan. <br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Your passion for cooking is known? Any new cook books ?</span><br /><br />I am writing a book on Indian cuisine from different states which will feature cooking with traditional families from those states. <br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">What would you advise young aspiring Indian filmmakers? </span><br /><br />They should have the passion to go ahead with their project, irrespective of the failures and budget constraints. <br /><br /><formid=367815></formid=367815></div> </div>
