‘This film is one of my most daring attempts’

Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi’s  latest  film Muhammad: Messenger of God — an epic on the life and times of the Prophet Muhammad — recently witnessed its premiere at the Montreal World Film Festival (MWFF) in Canada. The movie is known for its sizeable budget for an Iranian film ($40 million), and the inclusion of renowned technicians and performers in its crew,  like Apocalypse Now cinematographer Vittorio Storaro and Oscar winner A.R. Rahman composing the film’s score. The film had a nationwide release in Iran over the weekend and it has garnered praise from all quarters.

DC caught up with the music maestro and in an exclusive, he shares his experiences about working for a project that is very close to his heart. The film Muhammad... has received a fantastic opening. When queried if it was expected, Rahman says, “It still hasn’t sunk in that the movie has released. The movie was in the making for the past six to seven years. I know how the director nurtured it with attention to details. All of us are lucky that the movie is getting rave reviews. It’s payback for all the hard work.”

It is known that Rahman is a highly spiritual person and he often says that he knows only two things in life — his work and God. About what went through his mind when Majid approached him for this movie on the Prophet and whether he was intimidated by the work, he says, “Whatever work I do, I always believe that it needs to be blessed for people to like it and love it. I just kept my fingers crossed and prayed in anticipation.”

Sharing his experience of working with Majid, the Oscar winner says, “It was a long-cherished dream to work in a beautiful Iranian movie and a director like Majidi. I learnt a lot in the process working with a master director like him. We recorded the music across five countries —India, Iran, Germany, France and Egypt, with 200 musicians and it has been mixed in Chennai. This is one of my most daring attempts at composing.”

The movie had its own share of controversies. “The director has gone back to the foundation of the faith, which is kindness and upliftment of humankind, and not what has been portrayed by the misrepresentation, which has provoked violence and inhuman acts in the past. He has shown that division is a product of evil, and inclusion is divine. I seek to be excused for paraphrasing Jalaluddin Rumi’s words — Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right-doing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about.”

He adds, “Ideas, language, even the phrase ‘each other’ doesn’t make any sense. There is a unity beyond Shia, Sunni and other denominations. I will watch this movie with that true intention. Watch it for the story about a fatherless child torn between two mothers, a child who is loved by all!”