Prominent artist passes away

A couple of weeks ago prominent Iranian Actor, Screenwriter and Director Farajollah Salahshoor passed away. On this occasion we have prepared a special feature on the works of this great artist. Please stay with us:

Frajollah Salahshoor was born in Qazvin in 1953. His artistic career began after the victory of the Islamic revolution by acting in the cinema. Then he entered the TV and directed historical religious series like Prophet Job, Men of Angelus, and Prophet Joseph which were broadcast several times both inside and outside Iran. Salahshoor passed away on February 27, 2016 at the age of 63 due to lung cancer.

Leader of the Islamic revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in a message, offered his condolences on his death saying: The well-known and eternal works of this pious artist – who crossed the boundaries of art in the country and who became a source of pride and dignity for the cinematic art of the country in the eyes of other nations – will undoubtedly be among his legacies and will bring about divine reward for him and a good name among the people.

One of the successful TV series directed by the late Salahshoor was on the life of Prophet Joseph (PBUH). It was first broadcast on Channel One and World Service and a number of networks abroad. A feature film was also produced out of this series and displayed in some domestic and foreign festivals. 45 main actors and over 150 more sub-actors played in this series.

Regarding this TV series, one should say that all of the episodes have been released on You Tube and after clicking search for the Arabic name “Yousuf Al-Seddiq”, one will see that each episode has been watched for about 300,000 to 1.5 million times. This figure is related to the Arabic dubbing of the series and if we add other languages, the figure will be much higher.

Some of the TV and satellite networks which broadcast Prophet Joseph are Al-Kawthar, Al-Welayah, Al-Manar, Drama Al-Masriyah, Oscar Drama, Milody network, Time Mix, Caryo Drama, Donya Al-Fadhaiyah, Nasma TV, Al-Forat, Diyali and Iraq Al-Mostaqbal.

Prophet Job was another TV series which was directed by late Farajollah Salahshoor. Job is the Prophet whose name has been mentioned several times in the holy Quran and his patience has been praised. In this series which has been produced on the basis of anecdote of the holy Quran we see that the Almighty tests Prophet Job with hard trials and tribulations, for; the Satan couldn’t believe this deep faith of Prophet Job. God exposes Job to many tests but he does not give up worshipping God and then he regains his lost blessings.

The Men of Angelus is another TV series which was made by Farajollah Salahshoor. The story is about a handful of young monotheists who lived during the rule of the Roman Emperor Trajan Decius shortly after the birth of the Messiah and before spread of Christianity. All of them except one were among the nobles and courtiers who concealed their faith. Being informed of their faith, the emperor imprisoned them but they escaped at night and reached a mountain out of the city. They informed a shepherd of their religion and asked him for shelter. The shepherd also accepted their religion and they were hidden in a cave. They fell in a deep sleep and woke up after 309 years. The events in the aftermath shape the axis of the series and drew the attention of many viewers.

Some of the Arab media, while presenting parts of Salahshoor’s biography, referred to his Quranic and religious works and regretted the death of this prominent Iranian director. News websites and newspapers like the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) of Egypt, Al-Ahd of Lebanon, Al-Sumeriya of Iraq, Al-Yaum Al-Sabe’a of Egypt, daily Al-Wasat of Bahrain, Qatar news, Al-Khabar Press, Moujez Mesr, and others published the news of Salahshoor’s passing away. The Arab media also referred to his efforts for producing the series Prophet Moses (PBUH) and echoed the grief of some of the Iranian actors like Mostafa Zamani who played the role of Prophet Joseph.

God bless him, he was Iran’s ambassador to all Muslim states. This was the statement of Seyyed Amin one of the Egyptians who liked Salahshoor’s works. Adel Abdul Aal is another enthusiast who said: I met him at his house. God bless him. I talked to him about playing the role of Prophets in cinema. We said although Al-Azhar has issued fatwa or religious decree that playing the role of Prophets is haram, the Egyptian people warmly welcomed this series. Then he smiled and said: we live in the 21st century. We should express for this generation the stories of Prophets simply. Watching the actor further attracts the attention of viewer rather than hearing his voice.

Zahra Ahmad from Tunisia in her note first sought God’s forgiveness for Salahshoor and then wrote: This film took us out of the routine religious series and we realized that if the faces of Prophets are displayed in a dramatic film, provided that the actor does not play opposite the Islamic ethics, no bad event will take place.

The TV series Prophet Joseph directed by Farajollah Salahshoor, after great success inside the country has now turned into Iran’s cultural envoy in the world. 92 percent of foreign audiences are content of the series. Recently, the head of Thai Muslims has sent a gift and appreciated the broadcast of Prophet Joseph. In his message he says that in addition to Muslims, even the other religious groups and even Buddhists have welcomed the series. Regarding the scale of popularity of the TV series Prophet Joseph even among non-Muslims, Salahshoor said: This series associates with human nature. Nature is the power of just cognizance which God has bestowed on human and it causes humans to accept goodness whether Muslim or non-Muslim.

Prophet Joseph is truth not lie. Fact and honesty is in harmony with human nature. Unfortunately most of the present movies of the world are full of lies. Moreover, Prophet Joseph has an attractive story. The other point is the lesson of this series. The movies which give lessons indirectly are more welcomed and this characteristic has been also stressed by the holy Quran. The other characteristic of Prophet Joseph is its content and meaningfulness. Worship, love, self-sacrifice and faith are the content and other attractions such as decorations, filming and the music led the film to be welcomed so warmly.

Farajollah Salahshoor was among the few artists who entered the cinema with Qur’anic concerns and for this reason he is among the pioneers of linking cinema with Quran. Salahshoor made many good works in theatre, cinema and TV.

The noteworthy point about this prominent Iranian director is that according to many filmmakers, making films on the Qur’anic topics is impossible. But Salahshoor proved the reverse. The TV series Prophet Joseph was warmly welcomed not only in Iran but also in many Muslim states. It should be said that late Salahshoor wrote a major part of the screenplay of the series Prophet Moses (PBUH) and he had planned to screen it but death didn’t let him. This series will illustrate the real teachings of Prophet Moses and could expose many lies and tricks of the Zionists.

FK/RM/ME