Ismail Merchant could become the next face of Britain's £20 bank note

LONDON: Indian born film director and producer Ismail Merchant could become the next face of Britain's £20 bank note. The Bank of England has just finished asking the British public to nominate artists who they believe helped to shape British thought.Around 30,000 nominations have been received.

Merchant was born in Mumbai in 1936 and was a producer and director of highly-acclaimed films like `The Remains of the Day' A Room with a View' (1993), ` (1985) and `Howards End' (1992). He met his partner James Ivory at a screening of Ivory's documentary `The Sword and the Flute' (1959) in New York City . Merchant and Ivory formed Merchant Ivory Productions in May 1961.

Merchant died on May 25, 2005 in London at the age of 68 following surgery for abdominal ulcers.

He has now been nominated along with greats like Francis Ba con, Alfred Hitchcock, Laurence Olivier, John Nash, Richard Attenborough, William Blake and Charlie Chaplin. The Bank said on Monday that the person chosen will be announced in 2016 and the new £20 note would be in circulation in the next 3-5 years.

Bank of England's Banknote Character Advisory Committee will produce a shortlist of 3 to 5 names, which will go to the Governor for a final decision.