Vicky Kaushal and Kartik Aaryan

The Rakesh Sharma biopic was first offered to Aamir Khan, who opted out of it later. Then, Shah Rukh Khan was roped in to play the cosmonaut in the space drama whose title was changed from Salute to Saare Jahaan Se Achha. However, After Hrs recently informed you that the Zero actor, too, has stepped down from the project. While the official confirmation on either of the news was never made, the makers of the film - Ronnie Screwvala and Siddharth Roy Kapur — have zeroed in on two actors from Gen Y.

A source says, “After SRK’s exit, Ronnie and Siddharth decided to cast a younger face to play Rakesh’s role. The story revolves around his mission to be the first Indian in space and he was 35 when he achieved this feat. So, they decided to sign one of the actors from Gen-Y.”

Although several names were doing the rounds, a source from the production team informed us that the top contenders are Vicky Kaushal and Kartik Aaryan. While the former is in great form at the box office after Uri: The Surgical Strike, the latter has Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety under his belt. “Mahesh Mathai, who is directing the biopic, has met Kartik, but they haven’t had a narration yet. Meanwhile, Vicky was spotted at Siddharth’s office a few days ago,” adds the source.