Farhan Akhtar to portray sitar legend Ravi Shankar in Sam Mendes’ Beatles saga

The intersection of musical influences between the people of Liverpool and India has now officially been chosen to be made into a Hollywood flick of epic proportions, as actor-director Farhan Akhtar has signed on to play the role of sitar legend Pandit Ravi Shankar in Sam Mendes’ four-part extravaganza on the Beatles’ lives.

Farhan Akhtar will play the role of Ravi Shankar

On Thursday, Sony Pictures unveiled a new spate of casting for the upcoming film The Beatles: A Four-Film Cinematic Event. Farhan, who has been lauded for his physical transformation in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, will reportedly play the individual who introduced the Beatles to Indian classical music and spirituality. This will mark a major milestone for Farhan, as it will be his official foray into Hollywood cinema, having made a cameo appearance in the 2022 show Ms. Marvel.

This is an unprecedented project in the history of films. Sam is set to direct four separate films from the point of view of each band member, whose stories will overlap to reveal their meteoric rise and eventual split in 1970. Farhan is set to star in a film featuring an impressive principal cast list, which includes Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr.

Sources close to the production confirm that Farhan has already started the rigorous work of learning the sitar for a realistic touch in the role. Though he is famously a guitar aficionado, it has been suggested that Farhan is "zapped" at the honour of donning the important role. This is also the reason for the recent change of heart in his filmmaking priorities, as he makes space for this global platform.

The freshly announced ensemble has Lucy Boynton cast as Jane Asher, Morfydd Clark starring as Cynthia Lennon, and Harry Lawtey as the band’s first bassist Stuart Sutcliffe. They join a supporting cast list, which already has Saoirse Ronan starring as Linda McCartney and Anna Sawai starring as Yoko Ono. With shooting expected to wrap by the end of the year, all four movies are set to make their worldwide premiere in April of 2028.

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