Shah Rukh, not Aamir Khan to shoot for biopic on Rakesh Sharma next?

The shooting of the project is expected to begin this September.

New Delhi: Shah Rukh Khan is seemingly super-tied with his upcoming Aanand L Rai directorial 'Zero', where he will be seen essaying the role of an adorable dwarf alongside his 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan' co-stars Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif.

The latest buzz suggests that the 'King Khan' of Bollywood has finally his nod for a biopic, based on the life of Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian astronaut to go into space.

A DNA report claimed that makers Ronnie Screwvala and Siddharth Roy Kapur recently approached the 52-year-old for the project. 

The biopic, titled 'Salute', will be helmed by ad filmmaker-turned-director Mahesh Mathai. At a recent event, Shah Rukh was quoted as saying by the website, "I haven’t signed a film yet. I really want to live with Zero because it’s a little tedious... I have been meeting Siddharth and Ronnie. I have met a lot of other directors and producers because I have to. But I haven’t confirmed anything yet…"

The report said that since Shah Rukh is currently occupied with 'Zero', the shooting of biopic will begin only in September. He is expected to shoot for close to two months and wrap up the first schedule of the movie. He will then begin the second schedule of the biopic in January next year. 

"SRK wants to start shooting in September and continue for two months before he starts promoting Zero, which releases on Christmas. After that, he will resume Salute's shoot from January 2019. The film is expected to release next year," a source told DNA. 

In the meantime, we hear that the role was earlier offered to Mr Perfectionist Aamir Khan. However, after he decided to step out of the project, the makers approached Shah Rukh, who contentedly took up the film project. There has been no confirmation from the actor on the same. 

The biopic was earlier titled 'Saare Jahaan Se Accha'. A report claimed that this is what Rakesh Sharma responded to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi when she asked him how does India look from space.