Saturday, May 28 2005 15:58 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: The body of eminent India-born filmmaker Ismail Merchant, who passed away at a London hospital on Wednesday (May 25, 2005), was brought to city by an Air India cargo flight.

The flight, which was scheduled to arrive at 12.20 hrs (IST), was delayed and landed at Chattrapati Shivaji Airport at around 13:00 hrs (IST), sources said.

His body is to be buried at Bada Kabrastan in south Mumbai later this evening.

It has been taken to a relative's house in Mumbai Central and kept there before burial, family sources said.

The body would lie there for friends and relatives to pay their homage, and the funeral procession would begin at 16:00 hrs (IST). The burial is expected to take place at 21:00 hrs (IST).

The 68-year-old veteran producer-director died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital at London on Wednesday due to ulcer burst in the abdomen. Merchant had been reportedly suffering from stomach ailments for the last few days and had recently undergone a surgery for abdominal ulcers.