Letter from Ismail Merchant, Delhi, India, to James Ivory, Dinuba, California, [1963] December 20 : typescript signed.

Saying he has been in Delhi for the past two days and have had a meeting with Mr. Dutt that morning, along with Jhab, who will also be writing to Ivory with his impressions-- he is hopeful; asking if Ivory completed Merchant's requests before departing New York, and suspecting he has not; repeating the issues surrounding the Indian release of "The Householder" once again, now fearing it will not happen "before February may be March or even April"; saying Ruth has sent her thoughts on the actor's film [i.e. "Shakespeare Wallah"]; telling Ivory he has bought "two elephants from Essaji as a Christmas present for you"-- "handsome pieces"; wondering if anything can be done with Columbia without one of them in New York to oversee it; mentioning running into Marie Seton and seeing Jyotirindra Moitra; describing a potential commerical film project he is considering for moneymaking purposes ("We really need money")-- a film "with songs and dances," to be directed by Prayag Raj, starring Shashi and I.S. Johar, and shot in Kerala in 25 days, and saying he has to give his answer upon his return to Bombay.