The Courtesans of Bombay

The Courtesans of Bombay
American release poster
Directed by	Ismail Merchant
Written by	Ismail Merchant James Ivory Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Produced by	Ismail Merchant
Starring	Kareem Samar Saeed Jaffrey Zohra Sehgal
Cinematography	Vishnu Mathur
Edited by	Amit Bose Rita Stern
Production company	Merchant Ivory Productions
Distributed by	Channel Four Television Corporation (UK) New Yorker Films (US)
Release dates	January 1983 (1983-01) (UK) 19 March 1986 (1986-03-19) (U.S.)
Running time	73 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

The Courtesans of Bombay is a 1983 British docudrama directed by Ismail Merchant. A collaboration by Merchant, James Ivory, and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. The film focuses on a Bombay compound known as Pavan Pool, where women aspiring to work in the entertainment industry dance for donations from a male audience by day and, it is broadly suggested although never specifically stated, work as prostitutes by night. It was broadcast by Channel 4 in the UK in January 1983 and went into limited theatrical release in the United States on 19 March 1986.

Merchant was aware of the courtesans (tawaifs) at an early age "from the visits from them we used to have during weddings at home, celebrations of childbirth, and other festivities. They provided the entertainment of singing and dancing, and I used to watch them." His first visit to Pavan Pool at the age of sixteen left him with a vivid memory that inspired him to record the activities and experiences of the courtesans on film.^[1]