Letter from James Ivory, Dinuba, California, to Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and Cyrus Jhabvala, Delhi, India, [between 1965 October 6 and November 3] : typescript signed.

Playfully riffing on an enclosed advertisement featuring a view of "Pearl Buck's drawing room" (not present); musing on the fact that "color television is quite beautiful sometimes," and describing watching baseball games and coverage of the Pope's recent visit to America [arriving in New York on October 4, 1965]; telling them that Merchant and Herb Golden have a tentative distribution deal with the Landau Company, contingent on shortening "Shakespeare Wallah" yet again, and he is trying to figure out what to cut; musing at length about this issue, and asking their opinions; including a tentative list of possible cuts; lamenting the fact that Merchant is so impatient to have the cuts done that he "calls up from New York long distance, something we can ill afford, and shouts down the receiver all kinds of dire threats," and feeling concerned as "it's so absolutely mean of him and makes such an impression on my father"; upset that his father had to call Merchant and explain why Ivory needs to be in California with him-- "He shouldn't have to do that"; saying this sort of selfishness is part and parcel with Merchant's recent behavior on television, where he opened himself, Ivory, and MIP up to possible lawsuits by publicly accusing Columbia Picture of trying to cheat them; asking them to write to Merchant, presumable to calm him down; explaining that he is in California to help his father set his affairs in order "in expectation of a final illness. He's really being kept alive by chemicals, purely and simply"; asking them once more to "Please write Ismail strong letters. He's cruel sometimes but I know he doesn't mean to be."