TEHRAN – The Iranian stage and screen actor Parsa Piruzfar is due to star as Persian poet and mystic Molana Jalal ad-Din Rumi in the Iran-Turkey joint film project “Drunk on Love”, a public relations team for the movie announced on Sunday.

The film, which will be directed by Hassan Fat’hi, director of the popular Iranian TV series “The Tenth Night”, “Zero Degree Orbit” and “Shahrzad”, will focus on the lives of Rumi and Shams-i Tabrizi, the wandering sage who later became the mentor of Rumi in the 13th century CE.

Earlier in last week, the public relations team of the project announced that Palme d’Or-winning actor Shahab Hosseini also from Iran will play the role of Shams.

The entire film will shot in Konya, a Turkish town that is home to the mausoleum of Rumi.

Fat’hi and Farhad Tohidi are co-writing the screenplay. The ENG Yapim Medya Organization from Istanbul is collaborating in this project.

Rumi (1207-1273) undertook one or two journeys to Syria, during one of which he met the dervish, Shams. 

However, he was deeply influenced by Shams during their second visit in Konya on November 30, 1244. 

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.

Photo: Actor Parsa Piruzfar in an undated photo. (Arsha Aqiqi)

RM/MMS/YAW