Letter from James Ivory, Mumbai, India to Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Delhi, India, 1970 August 16 : autograph manuscript signed.

Stating that he has "still not seen the completed film -- at least not all at one time ... and in no particular order"; describing his decision to send an imperfect print of the film "for screening by the N.Y. Festival," as he promised Merchant he would do, rather than waiting for a better one; describing the problems with the print, how there is "no standardization in the lab", and how "if you get anything good, it seems to be by accident"; stating that he only trusts Subrata Mitra; stating that he now has little to do except work on Shashi's trailer and that he needs some rest; complaining about some aspects of the film he didn't like and considering "re-doing it"; relating what aspects of the music he likes and doesn't like; agreeing that Ismail "refuses to face facts", namely "that our films don't make money and are not likely to," which leads to "disappointments, film after film," and wondering why he continues to do it; recognizing that Merchant's "hysteria of the last months came out of his desperation"; describing a postcard from Merchant; expressing concern that Ruth has "entered a dark period"; summarizing his forthcoming travel plans and suggesting that he'll come to Delhi after going to England via Moscow; pointing out that this has been their shortest film, "just 7 months from first day of shooting till printing in the lab"; outlining various conditions for "what has to be done in the event I make another film here".