This is in reference to the column “Ismail Merchant: Bombay boy who made it big in Hollywood” by Farouk Luqman. I happened to read the lovely piece and the author’s days with Ismail Merchant in St Xavier’s. Coincidently, I just finished watching his early directorial venture, The Courtesans of Bombay, a super documentary about dancing girls in the city.
That era is of particular interest for me. I published a book on Dev Anand sometime back and I think Vijay Anand too was around there at the same time. Another strange coincidence, Vicky Kapoor was a friend of mine also. I was very saddened by his death. Luqman wrote about the combination of a Christian, Muslim and Jew. It was also true for Bombay as it was a very cosmopolitan city in those days and Merchant was a proper Bombay boy. — Sidharth Bhatia, By e-mail
Bombay boy
