Ismail Merchant

Ismail Merchant was an Indian film producer born in Bombay, who founded Merchant Ivory Productions with director James Ivory after meeting at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival, creating acclaimed period films like A Room with a View and Howards End in collaboration with screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. He began his career with the Oscar-nominated short The Creation of Woman and later directed films such as In Custody and Cotton Mary. Merchant was renowned for producing lavish films on modest budgets over four decades.