Ayat-Ayat Cinta

Ayat-Ayat Cinta
Directed by	Hanung Bramantyo
Produced by	Dhamoo Punjabi Manoj Punjabi
Written by	Habiburrahman El Shirazy Retna Ginatri S. Noor Salman Aristo
Starring	Fedi Nuril Rianti Cartwright Carissa Putri Zaskia Adya Mecca Melanie Putria
Music by	Melly Goeslaw Anto Hoed Rossa Tya Subiyakto
Distributed by	MD Pictures
Release dates	February 28, 2008 (2008-02-28)
Running time	120 minutes
Country	Indonesia
Language	Indonesian Arabic English
Budget	US$1.5 million [1]
Box office	US$ 13 million

Ayat-Ayat Cinta (English: The Verses of Love) is an Indonesian drama film from MD Pictures, Producer Manoj Punjabi and Dhamoo Punjabi. Starring as main casts are Fedi Nuril, Rianti Cartwright, Carissa Putri, Melanie Putria, and Zaskia Adya Mecca. It is a romantic religious drama based on the bestselling novel with the same title by Habiburrahman El Shirazy. While the story is set in Cairo, Egypt, the film was shot in India and Semarang, Indonesia.^[2] Ayat-Ayat Cinta was released on February 28, 2008 in Indonesia, May 8, 2008 in Singapore, and June 19, 2008 in Malaysia.

Synopsis

The story began when a man name Fahri bin Abdillah went to Egypt to take a master's degree majoring Islam at the University of Al-azhar, Cairo. He is not rich but he is smart. He got a scholarship from his former school; his parents even had to sell their rice field. Fahri is a perseverant and disciplined man. He even has a life map for himself. He planned to get married when his paper would be accepted by the faculty. But the problem is, he never had any relationship with a woman. He only was close to two women in his life, which were his mom and his grandmother.

First there was Maria Girgis, the neighbor who admired Fahri although she was a Coptic-Christian. Maria was an open-minded girl who was really attracted by the Al Quran, the 'holy bible' of the Islam. Her admiration changed into love. But she kept it a secret to herself and her diary. After Maria appeared Nurul in Fahri's life. She was an Indonesian student like Fahri. They loved each other but none of them knew it or had the courage to reveal. Fahri considered himself inferior to be Nurul’s husband because Nurul was a daughter of a famous Muslim cleric in Indonesia. He thought he doesn’t deserve her.

In that situation Noura, a humble Egyptian girl from next door also had certain feelings for that rice field boy who got a scholarship. Fahri cherished a deep empathy for that girl. Actually no more than empathy but the girl interpreted it differently and more in a romantic way. This misunderstanding led to a tremendous problem as Noura accused Fahri from raping her.

Finally Aisha appeared. Her beautiful eyes really captured Fahri's heart. In a metro incident in which Fahri defended the Islam from being narrow-minded, Aisha fell in love with him.

However Fahri didn’t want Aisha to have more than a formal relationship before being married. He really believed that. So, for him it was a matter of religious fact and faith, not only matter of love.The best part of this film is the protagonist, the little twist and turn at the bottle.

How a strict perseverant man like Fahri will handle this? Which heart would Fahri take? Could he overcome and get through it all in the Islamic way?

Released

Ayat-Ayat Cinta was initially set to be released in cinemas on December 19, 2007. However, the release date was constantly changed due to several problems, but it ultimately premiered on February 28, 2008.

Comparison to novel

• In the novel, Maria has a younger brother named Youssef, while in the film she is depicted as an only child.
• When Fahri had been arrested and imprisoned, he was imprisoned by the respected scholars Professor Abdul Rauf, Ismail, Hamada, Haj Rashed and Marwan. In the movie, Fahri was accused and imprisoned for being a cruel, yet wise culprit.
• At the end of the novel, the American reporter Alicia returns to Egypt to visit Fahri as a new muslimah, whereas in the film she did not convert to Islam.

Soundtrack

The film's title track Ayat-Ayat Cinta was selected as the lead single from the album soundtrack to promote the film, and met with critical and commercial success. A music video was also made for the single.

1. "Ayat-Ayat Cinta" (Rossa) — 3:48
2. "Jalan Cinta" (Sherina) — 4:32
3. "Takdir Cinta" (Rossa) — 3:32
4. "Tercipta Untukku" (featuring Rossa) (Ungu) — 4:25
5. "Andai Ku Tahu" (Ungu) — 4:46
6. "Opening Scene" (Music Scoring) — 2:41
7. "Letter From Noura" (Music Scoring) — 1:18
8. "Thalagi" (Music Scoring) — 1:13
9. "The Basket" (Music Scoring) 1:06
10. "Ayat-Ayat Cinta" (Minus One) — 3:47
11. "Jalan Cinta" (Minus One) — 4:32
12. "Takdir Cinta" (Minus One) — 3:30

References

External links

• Review in Warung Fiksi Portal
• Verses of Love at the Internet Movie Database