---
name: "Ismail Merchant"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/ismail-merchant"
fi1m_id: "ismail-merchant"
imdb_id: "nm0580337"
tmdb_id: 54448
wikidata_id: "Q732397"
roles: ["Producer"]
born: "25 December 1936"
died: "25 May 2005"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 85
average_as: "producer"
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-10-05T04:24:32.549930+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Ismail Merchant

## Identity

Ismail Merchant

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/ismail-merchant
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** ismail-merchant
- **IMDb ID:** nm0580337
- **TMDB ID:** 54448
- **Wikidata ID:** Q732397
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ismail_Merchant, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q732397, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0580337/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/54448

Producer. Born 25 December 1936 in Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India. Died 25 May 2005.

## Details

- **Work:** Producer
- **Born:** 25 December 1936, Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India
- **Died:** 25 May 2005
- **Active:** 1986–1993
- **Frequently works with:** [James Ivory](https://film.one/person/james-ivory.md), [Ruth Prawer Jhabvala](https://film.one/person/ruth-prawer-jhabvala.md), [Anthony Hopkins](https://film.one/person/anthony-hopkins.md), [Denholm Elliott](https://film.one/person/denholm-elliott.md), [Emma Thompson](https://film.one/person/emma-thompson.md), [Helena Bonham Carter](https://film.one/person/helena-bonham-carter.md), [Hugh Grant](https://film.one/person/hugh-grant.md)
- **BAFTA Film Awards:** 2 BAFTAs (2 won · 2 nominated)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 85, as producer, over 4 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 84 (2), 1990s 86 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 85 to 78 across 4 titles
- **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 0 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 4, Romance 4
- **Screen time:** 9 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $73m across 4 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ismail_Merchant, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q732397, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0580337/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/54448

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Howards End*](https://film.one/film/howards-end.md) (84), [*Maurice*](https://film.one/film/maurice.md) (83)
- **Disney+:** [*The Remains of the Day*](https://film.one/film/the-remains-of-the-day.md) (88)
- **HBO Max:** [*A Room with a View*](https://film.one/film/a-room-with-a-view.md) (84)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Ismail Merchant (25 December 1936 – 25 May 2005) was an Indian film producer and occasional director. Born Ismail Noor Muhammad Abdul Rahman in Bombay, he studied at the University of Bombay and earned an MBA from New York University. In 1961 he formed Merchant Ivory Productions with director James Ivory; the pair collaborated for over four decades, with screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala writing most of their scripts.

Merchant produced literary adaptations including *A Room with a View* (1985), *Maurice* (1987), *Howards End* (1992) and *The Remains of the Day* (1993). The company’s films received multiple Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and won BAFTA Awards for Best Film for *A Room with a View* and *Howards End*. Merchant was also nominated for an Academy Award for the short film *The Creation of a Woman* (1959). He directed several features later in his career, among them *In Custody* (1993) and *The Mystic Masseur* (2001).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (4)

- *The Remains of the Day* (1993), Fi1m 88, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-remains-of-the-day.md)
- *Howards End* (1992), Fi1m 84, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/howards-end.md)
- *Maurice* (1987), Fi1m 83, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/maurice.md)
- *A Room with a View* (1986), Fi1m 84, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/a-room-with-a-view.md)

## Complete filmography (48)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The White Countess* (2005), Producer
- *Heights* (2005), Producer
- *Thank You, Doctor Rey* (2003), Executive Producer
- *Le Divorce* (2003), Producer
- *The Mystic Masseur* (2001), Director
- *The Golden Bowl* (2000), Producer
- *Cotton Mary* (1999), Director
- *A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries* (1998), Producer
- *Mrs. Dalloway* (1997), Thanks
- *The Proprietor* (1996), Director
- *Surviving Picasso* (1996), Producer
- *Lumière & Company* (1995), Director
- *Feast of July* (1995), Executive Producer
- *Jefferson in Paris* (1995), as Royal Indian Man · Producer
- *Street Musicians of Bombay* (1994), Producer
- *In Custody* (1994), Director
- *The Remains of the Day* (1993), Producer — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/the-remains-of-the-day.md)
- *Howards End* (1992), Producer — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/howards-end.md)
- *The Ballad of the Sad Cafe* (1991), Producer
- *Mr. & Mrs. Bridge* (1990), Producer
- *Slaves of New York* (1989), as Party Guest (uncredited) · Producer
- *The Deceivers* (1988), Producer
- *The Perfect Murder* (1988), Executive Producer
- *Maurice* (1987), Producer — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/film/maurice.md)
- *My Little Girl* (1986), Executive Producer
- *A Room with a View* (1986), Producer — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/a-room-with-a-view.md)
- *Noon Wine* (1985), Executive Producer
- *The Bostonians* (1984), Producer
- *Heat and Dust* (1983), as Indish Guy (uncredited) · Producer
- *The Courtesans of Bombay* (1983), Director, Producer, Writer
- *Quartet* (1981), Producer
- *Jane Austen in Manhattan* (1980), Producer
- *The Europeans* (1979), Producer
- *Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures* (1978), Producer
- *Roseland* (1977), Producer
- *Sweet Sounds* (1976), Producer
- *Autobiography of a Princess* (1975), Producer
- *The Wild Party* (1975), Producer
- *Mahatma and the Mad Boy* (1974), Director, Producer
- *Helen, Queen of the Nautch Girls* (1973), Producer
- *Savages* (1972), Producer
- *Adventures of a Brown Man in Search of Civilization* (1972), Producer
- *Bombay Talkie* (1970), as Fate Machine Producer · Producer
- *The Guru* (1969), Producer
- *Shakespeare-Wallah* (1965), as Theater Owner (uncredited) · Producer
- *The Householder* (1963), as Extra · Producer
- *The Creation of Woman* (1961), Executive Producer
- *Refuge*, Executive Producer

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 4 nominated

- 1994: Best Picture (nominated), for *The Remains of the Day*
- 1993: Best Picture (nominated), for *Howards End*
- 1987: Best Picture (nominated), for *A Room with a View*
- 1961: Best Live Action Short Film (nominated), for *The Creation of Woman*

### BAFTA Film Awards — 2 won, 2 nominated

- 1993: Best Film (nominated), for *The Remains of the Day*
- 1992: Best Film (won), for *Howards End*
- 1986: Best Film (won), for *A Room with a View*
- 1983: Best Film (nominated), for *Heat and Dust*

### Golden Globes — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1986: Best Motion Picture – Drama (nominated), for *A Room with a View*

### Other awards — 3 won

- Padma Bhushan 2002: Padma Bhushan (won)
- International Indian Film Academy Awards 2001: International Indian Film Academy Awards (won)
- Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres 1996: Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/ismail-merchant