Messenger of God
The controversial and much talked about religious film of recent times has been Muhammad: Messenger of God (2015), directed by famous Iranian director Majidi Majid. And interestingly it has music by AR Rahman. The film still under ban in most of the Indian states and has not been released in our country.
Iranian director Majid Majidi’s “Muhammad: The Messenger of God”, made on a budget of $40 million and the first episode in a planned trilogy, has opened to mixed reviews.
Most critics have welcomed Majidi’s efforts to chronicle the Prophet’s childhood and adolescence, with the Guardian describing it as “intellectually honest, committed and poetic”. The Variety, however, called it a “lumbering, old-fashioned and overlong historical epic” akin to the Biblical movies churned out by Hollywood in the 1950s.
AR Rahman Composed the Music
But even before the film’s release in India, Mumbai-based Raza Academy issued a fatwa against Majidi and composer AR Rahman, who did the film’s score, and wrote to the Maharashtra chief minister and Union home minister Rajnath Singh to ban the movie.
In line with the more liberal Shia tradition of depicting the prophet, Majidi’s Muhammad: Messenger of God – the 171-minute first instalment of a projected trilogy – features shots of the prophet’s hands and legs as a baby, and the back of his head as an adolescent, but never shows his face.
Less films on Prophet Muhammad
The director said he believed a more proactive approach was required from Islamic film-makers in the light of acts of terrorism that were shaping global perceptions of the faith. “We’ve been guilty of shortcomings in introducing the world to the real and true face of the prophet. There have been 200 movies about Jesus Christ, 100 featuring Moses directly or indirectly, 42 about Buddha, but only two on Muhammad. It’s a natural act of introduction to our culture.”
The story revolves around the childhood of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The film marks Iran’s biggest-budget production to date and is the first part of the planned trilogy on the life of the Prophet.
Barring a few scenes filmed in South Africa, the majority of the filming was done at a colossal set created in the city of Qom near Tehran.
The film was officially announced in October 2011 and its filming was completed by 2013. The cinematography is done by Vittorio Storaro and film score is composed by AR Rahman.
Prophet Muhammad
Messenger of God follows the birth of Islam through the early years of Prophet Muhammad and delivers an important message that the world needs the most during these hard times: All divine religions heralded the coming of a new savior and all messengers of God were sent to complete the word of God.
The Life of Prophet Muhammad
Majidi successfully touches upon several universal themes throughout the film, probably the most visible of which is the maternal tragedy suffered by the widow Amina, the mother of Muhammad. Right from the start, Amina is unable to feed Muhammad and the baby is denied a wet nurse because of orders from one of his uncles, who is also the key antagonist of the story along with his childless wife. However, Amina’s tragedy continues as Muhammad is given to a Bedouin family in order to keep him safe from the prying of those who suspect that he’s the prophesied spiritual messenger.
The film music win hearts
Throughout these emotional scenes, while Muhammad shows compassion to slaves and heals his foster mother who is on her deathbed, the music composed by Indian Academy Award winner A.R. Rahman plays an important role. The musician who worked on the film’s score for more than 18 months is quite a genius in how and where he uses his tunes. Rahman uses the familiar Middle Eastern sounds by blending them with Western music, creating a bridge between the film and the Western audience.
Although there are not many vocals in Rahman’s score, an angelic voice accompanies Rahman’s melodies during the scene where Muhammad’s grandfather watches his newborn grandson, illuminated by moonlight, which is quite angelic as well. However, Rahman is not only good at delivering his score in emotional scenes but also at increasing the tension in action scenes. During the scene where the Abyssinians march to the city of Mecca with their elephant army, Rahman focuses on drums, keeping the audience in suspense and preparing them for the action in store.
Majidi’s passion, Muhammad
Messenger of God, to which he devoted seven years of his life to filming and editing, stands out as his masterpiece. The three-hour-long film which is planned to be the first of a trilogy offers a feast for the eyes and the soul.
@religionworldin
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