In Custody

In Custody

PG 1994 · 126 min · ★ 5.0 · Drama, Comedy

Ismail Merchant's feature directorial debut addresses a subject close to his heart: the expressive Urdu language of Northern India, in danger of extinction as political trends and modernization obscure its contributions to Indian culture. Merchant 's treatment is wry and good humored , as his characters - an aging Urdu poet (Shashi Kapoor) and a worshipful young college lecturer - clash despite their shared passion for the beauty of words.

Directed by Ismail Merchant · Written by Shahrukh Husain

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

Rent or Buy

Cast

Make it a double feature

4h 20m together

In Custody

The Remains of the Day

Both from Ismail Merchant.

More from Ismail MerchantSee all →

HARDtalk

HARDtalk · 1997

In-depth interviews with hard-hitting questions and sensitive topics being covered as famous personalities from all walks of life talk about the highs and lows in their lives.

Maurice

Maurice · 1987

MovieDramaRomance

After his lover rejects him, Maurice attempts to come to terms with his sexuality within the restrictiveness of Edwardian society.

The Remains of the Day

The Remains of the Day · 1993

The Remains of the Day

MovieDramaRomance

A rule-bound head butler's world of manners and decorum in the household he maintains is tested by the arrival of a housekeeper who falls in love with him in post-WWI Britain. The possibility of romance and his master's cultivation of ties with the Nazi cause challenge his carefully maintained veneer of servitude.

Howards End

Howards End · 1992

MovieDramaRomance

A saga of class relations and changing times in an Edwardian England on the brink of modernity, the film centers on liberal Margaret Schlegel, who, along with her sister Helen, becomes involved with two couples: wealthy, conservative industrialist Henry Wilcox and his wife Ruth, and the downwardly mobile working-class Leonard Bast and his mistress Jackie.

A Room with a View

A Room with a View · 1986

A Room with a View

MovieDramaRomance

When Lucy Honeychurch and chaperon Charlotte Bartlett find themselves in Florence with rooms without views, fellow guests Mr Emerson and son George step in to remedy the situation. Meeting the Emersons could change Lucy's life forever but, once back in England, how will her experiences in Tuscany affect her marriage plans?

Lumière & Company

Lumière & Company · 1995

Lumière & Company

MovieDramaDocumentary

40 international directors were asked to make a short film using the original Cinematographe invented by the Lumière Brothers, working under conditions similar to those of 1895. There were three rules: (1) The film could be no longer than 52 seconds, (2) no synchronized sound was permitted, and (3) no more than three takes.

Heights

Heights · 2005

MovieDramaRomance

Spanning twenty-four hours, HEIGHTS follows five New Yorkers challenged to choose their destiny before the sun comes up the next day.

The White Countess

The White Countess · 2005

The White Countess

MovieDramaRomance

In 1930s Shanghai, 'The White Countess' is both Sofia, a fallen member of the exiled Russian aristocracy, and a nightclub created by a blind American diplomat who asks Sofia to be the centerpiece of the world he wants to create.

Mr. & Mrs. Bridge

Mr. & Mrs. Bridge · 1990

Mr. & Mrs. Bridge

Set during World War II, an upper-class family begins to fall apart due to the conservative nature of the patriarch and the progressive values of his children.

Heat and Dust

Heat and Dust · 1983

MovieDramaRomance

Anne is investigating the life of her grand-aunt Olivia, whose destiny has always been shrouded with scandal. As Anne delves into the history of her grand-aunt, she is led to reconsider her own life.

The Golden Bowl

The Golden Bowl · 2000

The Golden Bowl

MovieRomanceDrama

Wealthy American widower Adam Verver and his daughter Maggie live a refined life in Europe, surrounded by art. Maggie marries impoverished Italian Prince Amerigo, while Adam marries Maggie's friend Charlotte Stant. The Prince and Charlotte are having an affair, which Maggie discovers and navigates through a silent, psychological battle of wills, ultimately using her cunning to preserve her marriage and protect her father.

Surviving Picasso

Surviving Picasso · 1996

Surviving Picasso

MovieDramaRomance

The passionate Merchant-Ivory drama tells the story of Francoise Gilot, the only lover of Pablo Picasso who was strong enough to withstand his ferocious cruelty and move on with her life.

Quartet

Quartet · 1981

MovieDramaRomance

When her husband's arrest leaves her penniless, a woman accepts an invitation to move in with a strange couple.

Feast of July

Feast of July · 1995

MovieDramaCrime

After an abandoned young woman in late 19th Century England is taken in by a rural couple with three handsome sons, tragic consequences result.

Mrs. Dalloway

Mrs. Dalloway · 1997

MovieDramaRomance

Clarissa Dalloway looks back on her youth as she readies for a gathering at her house. The wife of a legislator and a doyenne of London's upper-crust party scene, Clarissa finds that the plight of ailing war veteran Septimus Warren Smith reminds her of a past romance with Peter Walsh. In flashbacks, young Clarissa explores her possibilities with Peter.

The Bostonians

The Bostonians · 1984

MovieDramaRomance

A bored lawyer and a suffragette vie for the attention of a faith healer's charismatic daughter.

More Like This

Bodyguard

Bodyguard · 2011

MovieDramaAction

Lovely Singh is extremely respectful of Mr Rana and his daughter Divya. While appointed as Divya's bodyguard, he falls in love with a girl he has never met, unaware that she is none other than Divya.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter