Rushdie still remembers Merchant's fish curries

     London: Late filmmaker Ismail Merchant was remembered recently at a memorial service by his 'movie-making family' that comprised director James Ivory, writer Salman Rushdie, Felicity Kendal, pop diva Tina Turner and many more. Rushdie recalled the fish curry he shared with Merchant. "He was always interested in me writing an original script for him and he kept telling me that he had the perfect film for me to write. It is very sad that it didn't happen," The Telegraph quoted him as saying. Merchant died before he could begin his film 'The Goddess'. Ivory said that the film had been abandoned. "It was really Ismail's film. The films he directed were so different from mine." Felicity Kendal, cast in Shakespeare-Wallah, recalled how Alan Bates had muttered about being given a "rather shabby" limousine to ride in, and Merchant had assured him he was lucky, as "yours is the one with the brakes". As a producer, working with a legendary combination of hustle and charm, Merchant made 37 films, among them The Remains of The Day, Heat and Dust and A Room With A View. He directed six, including The Mystic Masseur.
-Nov 19, 2005