An Iranian film company has come under fire for depicting the Prophet Mohammed by showing the back of his head in a new movie.

'Mohammed, Messenger of God' is a film about the Prophet's childhood but doesn't show his face with the other characters telling his story.

The project was filmed in Iran with a replica of the Kaaba shrine in Saudi Arabia built in the remote village of Allahyar especially for the epic making it the country's most expensive film.

Iranian filmmaker Majid Maijidi leads the crew through a scene while filming 'Mohammed, Messenger of God', a new film about the Prophet Mohammed

Replica buildings of Mecca in Saudi Arabia were created for the film's set in the village of Allahyar, south of Tehran

But despite the film yet to receive its release, it has been widely criticised, as Islamic clerics agree that trying to depict the Prophet Mohammed is forbidden.

Already Egypt has called for a ban on the film saying it debases the sanctity of the messengers from God, while Qatar has announced plans to shot its own film about the prophet's life.

But the film's director Majid Majidi has insisted the movie will five the right impression of Mohammed's life.

He said: 'Many relay their messages to the world through cinema and pictures.

'We are ready to co-operate to produce any movies to introduce Mohammed to the world.

'We are an Islamic country, we know the related culture and we have capabilities for such production.'

The film is the most expensive to be made in the country and depicts the Prophet Mohammed by showing the back of his head

The film appears to have gained the support of Iran's current supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Kharmenei, who attended the set in 2012

Islamic tradition is full of written descriptions of Mohammed and his qualities, describing him as the ideal human being.

But many finding depicting the prophet offensive with the the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo targeted by gunman in the Paris terror attacks, killing 12 people, over its caricature of Mohammed.

However, the film appears to have gained the support of Ayatollah Ali Kharmenei, Iran's current supreme leader, who attended and inauguration of the film's set in 2012.

For his vision the director has also hired Academy Award winning visual effects supervisor and filmmaker Scott E. Anderson, three-time Oscar winning Italian director of photography Vittorio Storaro and music producer Allah-Rakha Rahman, who won two Oscars for his work on Slumdog Millionnaire.

Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi, who has insisted the movie will five the right impression of Mohammed's life

Producers plan to ultimately release the film in Arabic, Persian and English, with showings across Iran in the summer.

If the film is successful, producers hope to work on two sequels with one focusing on Mohammed's life from this teenagers years and another from his 40s onwards, when he became the prophet of Islam.

Mohammed Mahdi Heidarian, head of the private Nourtaban Film Industry company, confirmed that his firm had spent $30million on the film.