Turkish star Hande Erçel joins cast, “Drunk on Love” filming begins

TEHRAN –(Iranart)- Iranian director Hassan Fat’hi has started shooting “Drunk on Love” in Konya as Turkish TV star Hande Erçel joined the cast for the movie, which will portray part of Persian poet Molana Jalal ad-Din Rumi’s life story, a public relations team for the movie announced on Tuesday.

The Iranian actors Parsa Piruzfar and Shahab Hosseini will star as Rumi and Shams, Rumi’s mentor, respectively while Erçel will play the role of Kimia, Rumi’s stepdaughter and Shams’ lover.

Turkish actor Ibrahim Çelikkol and Iranian actor Hesam Manzur are the other members of the cast.

“Drunk on Love” is written by Fat’hi himself and his fellow Iranian writer Farhad Tohidi in consultation with Mohammad-Ali Movahhed, a top Iranian expert on Rumi.

However, Shia clerics Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi and Ayatollah Hossein Nuri Hamedani viewed the movie as a promotion for Sufism and banned it.

Rumi undertook journeys to Syria, during one of which he met the dervish, Shams. 

He was deeply influenced by Shams during their second visit in Konya and for months, the two men constantly interacted, and as a result, Rumi neglected his disciples and family, who could not tolerate the close relationship. 

One night in 1247, Shams disappeared forever. This experience turned Rumi into a poet. The Divan of Shams is a true translation of his experiences into poetry.

The ENG Yapim Medya Organization from Istanbul is one of the sponsors of the project.

Producer Mehran Borumand, cinematographer Morteza Pursamadi and makeup artist Iman Omidvari, all from Iran, and Sahin Karakus, Aytekin Yalçin, Tolga Tosun and Fatih Koca, all from Turkey, are collaborating in the project.

source: Tehran Times