Letter from Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Delhi, India, to James Ivory, Mumbai, India, 1970 January 5 : autograph manuscript signed.

Expressing sympathy for a "miserable New Year's Eve party" Ivory attended but admonishing him for not yet learning a lesson that "Jennifer [Kendal] and I have been warning you against for years" about socializing with people who may covet his talent and ability; strategizing about how to respond to Shashi Kapoor and Zia Mohyeddin's dissatisfaction about their roles; explaining why she believes specific scenes should be dropped from the film and suggesting alternatives; expressing concern about complications that might arise if Robi Ghosh is cast for a part that delivers a particular speech because the rhythm of Bengali is different than that of English; reflecting on how unlikely it is that someone with his positive outlook is making this particular film ("Remember that one of the titles I'd suggested to you was 'Life is a Rotten Lousy Business'"); relaying news about her mother and her daughter Ava.