Ismail Merchant American film producer Date of Birth: 25.12.1936 Country: USA

1. Biography of Ismail Merchant
2. Successful Production Career
3. Early Life and Education
4. Establishing Merchant Ivory Productions

Biography of Ismail Merchant

Ismail Merchant (Ismail Merchant, 25.12.1936 – 25.05.2005) was an American film producer of Indian origin, best known for his legendary long-term collaboration with the company 'Merchant Ivory Productions', particularly with director - and former lover of Ismail - James Ivory and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Their films won six Academy Awards.

Successful Production Career

Merchant's successful production career lasted for over forty years. His main talent was an incredible skill in manipulating the financial resources around his creations - in particular, he always managed to make films several million dollars cheaper than his colleagues.

Early Life and Education

Ismail Nur Mohammed Abdul Rehman was born into a Memon family in Mumbai, India, to Khazra Memon and Nur Mohammed Haji Abdul Rehman, a textile merchant. At the age of eleven, he and his family were arrested for separatist activities. His father was the president of the Muslim League, and he refused to move to Pakistan. Later, Merchant would recall that his memory of the beginning of adult life was associated with images of continuous violence and riots.

Merchant received his higher education at St. Xavier's College in Bombay, where his love for cinema developed. At the age of twenty-two, he moved to the United States and enrolled at New York University, where he earned a Master of Business Administration degree. He earned a living as a courier for the United Nations, while also managing to secure financial assistance from Indian delegates for his films. He recalls those times, saying, "Nothing and no one scared me."

Establishing Merchant Ivory Productions

In 1961, Ismail released his first project - the short film 'The Creation of Woman'. The film was shown at the Cannes Film Festival and received an Academy Award nomination. In the same year, Merchant and director James Ivory founded the film company 'Merchant Ivory Productions'. Ismail and James also had a long-standing romantic relationship. Their professional and personal collaboration lasted from the early sixties until Merchant's death in 2005. This partnership entered the Guinness World Records as the longest-lasting partnership in the history of cinema.

Until his death, Ismail's company released around forty films, many of which received numerous awards. The majority of these films were written by novelist Ruth Prawer Jhabvala.