Verses of Love

Ayat-Ayat Cinta
Directed by	Hanung Bramantyo
Written by	Habiburrahman El Shirazy Retna Ginatri S. Noor Salman Aristo
Produced by	Dhamoo Punjabi Manoj Punjabi
Starring	Fedi Nuril Rianti Cartwright Carissa Putri Melanie Putria Zaskia Adya Mecca
Edited by	Sastha Sunu
Music by	Tya Subiyakto
Distributed by	MD Pictures
Release date	February 28, 2008 (2008-02-28)
Running time	130 minutes
Country	Indonesia
Languages	Indonesian Arabic English German Javanese
Budget	$1.5 million

Ayat-Ayat Cinta (Template:Lang-en) is an Indonesian drama film by Hanung Bramantyo starring Fedi Nuril, Rianti Cartwright, Fedi Nuril, Carissa Putri, Melanie Putria, and Zaskia Adya Mecca. It is a romantic religious film which is based on best-selling novel with the same title by Habiburrahman El Shirazy. The story is actually based in Cairo, Egypt, but instead of shooting in Cairo, the movie was shot in India and Semarang, Indonesia. Ayat-Ayat Cinta was released on February 28, 2008 in Indonesia, May 8, 2008 in Singapore, and June 19, 2008 in Malaysia.

Synopsis

Ayat Ayat Cinta is the tale of a virtuous Muslim protagonist who overcomes all obstacles in life maintaining pure ideals.

Fedi Nuril as Fahri bin Abdillah is a poor, intelligent student who wins a scholarship to complete his graduate degree at Egypt's esteemed Al Azhar University. Very disciplined and dedicated by nature, Fahri embraces his life in Cairo, completing his studies and translation of religious books with full enthusiasm, exactly according to pre-determined targets.

Only one goal is left unattempted: the pursuit of marriage.

For Fahri is innocent and pure, and does not believe in the concept of relationships prior to marriage. He is inarticulate and shy around women. All his life, only two women have been close to him – his mother and grandmother.

Life changes drastically in Egypt for he suddenly finds himself surrounded by four beautiful, distinctly different women.

Carissa Putri as Maria Girgis, a shy, open-minded Coptic neighbor who is attracted to the teachings of the Quran, finds herself falling in love with Fahri (a fact she only reveals to her diary).

Melanie Putria as Nurul, a student at Al Azhar like Fahri, is the Muslim daughter of a renowned Indonesian cleric. Fahri feels unworthy of her and thus ignores his feelings for her, leaving her confused and guessing.

Zaskia Adya Mecca as Noura, an abused Egyptian neighbor, develops strong romantic feelings for Fahri, who in turn simply sympathizes with her situation. His romantic rejection destroys her and eventually leads to a false accusation of rape.

Rianti Cartwright as Aisha, a German-Turkish student in Cairo haunts Fahri with her beautiful eyes. Following an incident on the metro where Fahri defends her against narrow minded bigoted Muslims, both immediately develop feelings for each other.

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 Yousef, while in the film Maria is depicted as the only child.

• When Fahri was arrested and put in jail, he was imprisoned with respected scholars, namely Professor Abdul Rauf, Ismail, Hamada, Haj Rashed and also Marwan. However, in the movie, Fahri was imprisoned with a cruel yet wise culprit.

• At the end of the novel, Alicia the American reporter returns to Egypt to visit Fahri as a new muslimah. However, in the movie, Alicia did not convert herself as a muslimah.

Soundtrack

Untitled

The film's title track Ayat-Ayat Cinta was selected as the lead single of the album soundtrack to promote the film. 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

External links

• Official website
• RuangFilm Catalog
• Review in RuangFilm Portal
• Review in Warung Fiksi Portal
• Verses of Love at IMDb