LONDON, May 25: Indian-born international filmmaker Ismail Merchant died suddenly on Wednesday in a London hospital, a spokesman for his London office said. “Unfortunately I can confirm that he died suddenly in London today. That is all I can say for now. A full statement is being prepared,” the spokesman told Reuters.

Ismail Merchant, born in Mumbai in Dec 1936 and educated in New York, became a household name when he teamed up with fellow filmmaker James Ivory to form Merchant-Ivory Productions.

Their string of international film credits included hits such as A Room With A View, Howards End, The Remains of the Day, Heat and Dust and The Bostonians.

Ismail Merchant’s first film was The Creation of Woman, a theatrical short which was not only nominated for an Oscar in 1961 but was an official US entry to the Cannes film festival.

It was while travelling to the festival that Merchant met Ivory and they agreed to form their partnership, initially to make high production English-language costume dramas in India tapping into funds of US companies in frozen rupee accounts.

A string of features followed including The Householder, Shakespeare Wallah, The Guru and Bombay Talkie.

Their collaboration was one of the most enduring and productive in Hollywood.—Reuters