Film producer Ismail Merchant, who was behind such movies as "A Room With a View" and "Remains of the Day," has died in London at the age of 68.

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Merchant died in a London hospital Wednesday afternoon, said a spokesman for Merchant Ivory, the firm he founded with his partner, James Ivory.

The spokesman said the Indian-born producer suffered from stomach problems during the past year, but it was unclear whether that was the cause of death, the BBC reported.

"What's gone is a major character and a unique film producer -- someone who completely defined independence in the film industry," fellow film producer Lord David Puttnam said.

Merchant was born in Bombay in 1936 and educated in New York.

He was surrounded by family and friends at this death.