IFFI 2023: Director Morteza Atashzamzam on Thursday said that the best religion in the world is humanity.

'Fereshteh', a film directed by Atashzamzam, premiered on Wednesday premiered at the 54th IFFI under the ‘Cinema of the World’ category.

Morteza along with Bangladeshi actor Sumon Faruque interacted with delegates and cine enthusiasts on Thursday and put a light on their work.

'Fereshteh' is a Bangladeshi movie in Bengali language and a joint venture production of Iran and Bangladesh. It is a story of a couple, Fereshteh and his husband Amjad, who keep trying hard to achieve their wishes. The movie feature Jaya Ahsan as Fereshteh and Sumon Faruque as Amjad.

Speaking about the film, Morteza said that he tries to connect with the people and their pain by listening to his heart. Fereshteh was crafted with this philosophy by a small team and within a limited budget.

Talking about the motivation behind the film making, he said that when we love something, we are ready to face any challenge and overcome any difficulty.

Speaking about India, Iranian Director Morteza said that he doesn’t believe in physical borders but only in humanity. He shared that people in Iran love India and Indian culture, specially the Bollywood. He said that he is looking forward for an opportunity to make a film in India.

Sumon Faruque said that being a businessman it was challenging for him to mould himself for the role of Amjad who is a poor rickshaw puller.

To prepare himself for the role he bought a rickshaw and started pulling it after his office hours. The actor added that to do justice with his character he started pulling a rickshaw during day time to get his skin tanned as well.

He feels that an actor should live the character to feel the emotions and portray them in the most authentic manner to the audience. IANS/SP