Letter from Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Delhi, India, to James Ivory, New York, New York, 1967 March 13: autograph manuscript signed.

Asking Ivory to take part in a "stealthy" mop-up operation following the charity premiere of "Shakespeare Wallah" in Delhi by writing to Catherine Freeman to thank her for all her work in arranging it and to inquire about any expenses that need reimbursement, and sending a small gift to Freeman's assistant Miss Rina Nanda by way of thanks; saying she has reasons for requesting this, which she will disclose later; admonishing "I don't want you to mention one word of this to Ismail-- ... not the smallest hint, ever," lest he misinterpret their actions; telling him that several friends have claimed that the reason the premiere affected her so badly [see MA 23840.389] is that she doesn't go out enough; asserting her opinion that "Shakespeare Wallah" "will always fall flat with any Indian audience, as will any future films of Ivory's; pointing out that even "the Maestro" Satyajit Ray has "ceased to look for anything from Indian audiences" and feels he must aim for the international market; pointing out that where Ray feels he has no one to "push" his films abroad, Ivory has Merchant, "who does push yours & spends all his time doing it"; reporting that Ray seems "thoroughly disappointed & disillusioned" lately, as well as unhappy in in family life, and David Swope reported that Ray was "terribly jumpy & irritable" in Bombay recently; relating that she advised Ray to make films "with a very highly developed Western interest, that explore "the new [relationship] between India & the West-- I say the new one in contrast to the old one of "Passage to India" days-- where the balance of power has shifted, & now Europeans don't look down on Indian culture but on the contrary make up to it, try to get something from it"; admitting she hasn't spoken to Merchant about this, as his favorite project, "Esmond," does not have this, and wondering why he is so opposed to using Dilip Kumar; wondering if the Ustad in their script [for "The Guru"] should be a sitar player rather than a singer; chiding herself for her reaction at the premiere and reminding herself "I always have known I must expect no response in India"; mentioning a letter she received from Nazrul Rahman about touring a tea plantation in Assam; saying Ivory's telegram about casting Walter Matthau [in "Vertical and Horizontal"] made both Merchant and Madhur very happy, but that she [Ruth] doesn't really know who Matthau is; pointing out that Ivory has not written her very much, and ending "If you breathe one word to Ismail about the 1st paragraph in this letter, I'll never trust you, never forgive you. Throw this letter away as soon as you've read it."