Farhan Akhtar has bagged his first Hollywood project, directed by Sam Mendes, no less.
He will play Pandit Ravi Shankar in the four film biopic series on The Beatles. The lead cast includes Harris Dickinson (John Lennon), Paul Mescal (Paul McCartney), Joseph Quinn (George Harrison), and Barry Keoghan (Ringo Starr). The project also stars British actress Lucy Boynton as actress-author Jane Asher (who was Paul McCartney’s then girlfriend), British actress Morfydd Clark as actress-author Cynthia (Powell) Lennon (John Lenon’s first wife) and British actor Harry Lawtey as painter-musician Stuart Sutcliffe (the original bass guitarist of the Beatles). Along with Saoirse Ronan, Anya Taylor-Joy, Mia McKenna-Bruce and Aimee Lou Wood.
While Farhan is not allowed to speak about it, a close friend tells this writer, “Farhan is no stranger to play known figures. He has played Milkha Singh. But when Sam Mendes’ offer to play Pandit Ravi Shankar in a biopic on the Beatles came Farhan’s way, he was zapped. He isn’t taking the honour lightly.”
Farhan has already started learning the sitar. “He is more a guitar than a sitar guy, but that will change,” chuckles the friend.
Right now, Farhan will focus on his acting career. After the Beatles film, he will act in his sister Zoya Akhtar’s Zindagi Na Milegi Dobaara 2. Those eager to see Farhan return to direction will have to wait for at least two more years.
A source close to Farhan can’t stop marveling at karma: “The closure of Don 3 was the best thing to happen to Farhan. If he was committed to directing Don, he wouldn’t have been able to take on Pandit Ravi Shankar’s role in The Beatles film. A pivotal role in a Sam Mendes film, and that too of someone as eminent as Pandit Ravi Shakar is an honour far beyond anything.”
