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Letter from Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Delhi, India, to James Ivory, Mumbai, India, 1964 August 13 : autograph manuscript signed.

BIB_ID
448671
Accession number
MA 23840.144
Creator
Jhabvala, Ruth Prawer, 1927-2013, sender.
Display Date
Delhi, India, 1964 August 13
Credit line
Gift of James Ivory, 2022.
Description
1 item (6 pages) ; 22.7 x 17.4 cm + envelope
Notes
Year from postmark.
Envelope addressed to Mr. James Ivory, c/o Ismail Merchant, Gool Villa, 32, Motlibai Street, Bombay 8, postmarked August 13, 1964.
Provenance
James Ivory.
Summary
Expressing dismay and anger over the release pattern Columbia chose for "The Householder" in Bombay; hoping that they will learn from the "Bombay mistake" when releasing in Delhi and elsewhere; noting the difference between the reactions of the English-language critics and the ones writing in Hindi; noting that by the time this letter reaches Ivory, the Kendals should be in town as well; peppering Ivory with questions about the pre-production preparations for "Shakespeare Wallah"; voicing her concerns about casting Utpal Dutt as the Maharajah and discussing the character in detail; asking when Madhur will be arriving; asking that, before everyone arrives for the shoot, Ivory and Merchant come to visit alone, and confessing that she prefers a small gathering and is actually looking forward to the shoot being over and everyone else going home; discussing a tiger hunt scene; asking for Ivory's opinion on the script as it is, and suggesting he speak to the principal actors and ask them to give her their takes on their respective characters, including Shashi, who she suspects will be reluctant; asking Ivory to write, and call when Ismail isn't around to protest the expense; saying she is reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's letters and is "wild about him"; asking in a postscript what he thinks of Foo (Felicity Kendal), now that she is a year older-- "Girls change so quickly."