All you need to know about ‘Muhammad: The Messenger of God’

Iranian director Majid Majidi with masterwork ‘Muhammad: The Messenger of God’ was the second filmmaker in the world who picked up the challenge for a respectable biopic on par with the high eminence of Islam’s prophet after Moustapha Akkad’s ‘The Message’.

Here is a roundup on the most important points you need to know about Iranian blockbuster biopic ‘Muhammad: The Messenger of God’.

 What is the main theme?

‘Muhammad: The Messenger of God’ initially sets in a time when Muslims were boycotted in an area called “She’eb Abi Talib”.  From the very beginning, the film gives the audience a flashback to events surrounding the prophet’s pre-birth and adolescence.  

The story of Abraha and his attack on Mecca as well as the prophet’s birth and his mother’s death after delivering Muhammad (PBUH) are some of the main sequences.

The impressive work ends with the first journey of the prophet to the Levant in today’s Syria where he visited a Christian monk who foretold Prophethood for him.

Most of important figures in the life of the prophet are represented in the film which has a soft, poetic narrative.

 What has inspired the director?

Around ten years ago, a festival based in Denmark invited Majidi to a honoring ceremony for the director after making awarding-winning movies such as ‘The Color of God’ and ‘Children of Heaven’. The filmmaker declined the offer due to an insulting drawing of the prophet in Denmark.

When such insults and defamation were on the rise, the director started to think about making a movie that could highlight the importance of Islam's prophet in human life.

How much did the project cost?

There are both rumors and realities on the budget for the biopic. This ranges from billions of dollars to a more logical figure well below 623 billion rials.

It might be of interest to you to know that Egypt and Morocco were first supposed to host the scenery of this project. However, later on it was decided the movies would be made in Iran for the ease of use in other parallel projects.

An unprecedented visit

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution paid a visit to behind-the-scenes of the project in 2011. This marks the first visit of the highest official in Iran after the Islamic Revolution to a movie set.

Will there be any sequel?

The movie has been billed as a trilogy with the director also mentioning the possibility of sequels to his grabbing film.

AG/AG