SRK roped in for India's first astronaut biopic

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan is confirmed to appear in the biopic of Indian astronaut Rakesh Sharma who is hailed as the first Indian to have gone in space.

The film is titled Saare Jahaan Se Achcha tentatively, that takes its name from the famous incident in which the then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi asked Rakesh Sharma as to how India looked like from space, to which he replied “Saare Jahan Se Acha [The best in the world]", quoting Iqbal’s popular verse.

It has been reported that Bhumi Pednekar will star in for the film opposite Shah Rukh Khan.

Produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur, the film’s script has been penned by Anjum Rajabali and will be directed by Mahesh Mathai.

Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to step into space when he boarded the Russian spacecraft Soyuz T-11for eight days in 1984, during which he carried out experiments and conducted an Earth observation program concentrating  India. He’s also said to be the first astronaut to have practiced yoga in space.

The shooting for the film is slated to commence in Feb/March next year.