TEHRAN -- Oscar-winning Indian composer A. R. Rahman is in Iran to promote “Muhammad (S), the Messenger of God”, Majid Majidi’s epic on the Prophet of Islam.

He is scheduled to watch the film with Iranian moviegoers at Tehran’s Kurosh Complex today at 3 p.m. Afterwards, he will attend a Q&A session.

Rahman also saw the film at the 29th International Film Festival for Young Adults in Hamadan on Tuesday and the organizers honored him for his collaboration in the movie, which is Iran’s submission for the best foreign language film category at the 88th Academy Awards.

In an interview with the Persian service of IRNA on Tuesday, he called the film “very good”, but he added that he is never satisfied with his work.

Rahman said that the film was produced with faith, which he believes is much greater than any award.

However, he added that winning an Oscar causes a film to be seen by more people.

Raza Academy, a Mumbai-based Sunni Muslim group, issued a fatwa against Rahman for his collaboration in the film shortly after its release in Iran. The group claimed that the film makes a mockery of Islam.

Rahman responded to the fatwa in a post, which was published on the social media in mid September.

“I am not a scholar of Islam. I follow the middle path and am part traditionalist and part rationalist,” he wrote. “I live in the western and eastern worlds, and try to love all people for what they are, without judging them.

“I didn’t direct or produce the movie… I just did the music. My spiritual experiences working on the film are very personal, and I would prefer not to share these ... My decision to compose the music for this film was made in good faith with no intention of causing offence.

“What, and if, I had the good fortune of facing Allah and He were to ask me on Judgment Day: I gave you faith, talent, money, fame and health… why did you not do music for my beloved Muhammad film, a film whose intention is to unite humanity, clear misconceptions and spread my message that life is about kindness, about uplifting the poor, and living in the service of humanity and not mercilessly killing innocents in my name?”

Rahman, 48, has so far composed music for over 100 movies, including “Slumdog Millionaire”, for which he won Oscars for best score and best song in 2009.

Photo: Indian composer A. R. Rahman acknowledges the audience after being honored for his collaboration in Majid Majidi’s epic “Muhammad (S), the Messenger of God” at the 29th International Film Festival for Young Adults in Hamedan on September 29, 2015. (ISNA/Puria Pakizeh)

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