Shah Rukh Khan to begin shoot for Rakesh Sharma biopic Salute in September; makers eyeing 2019 release

After wrapping up  Aanand L Rai’s Zero, Shah Rukh Khan has reportedly locked his dates for  Salute , the much-awaited biopic of former Indian Air Force pilot Rakesh Sharma. Sharma, the first and only Indian to travel to space, will be played by the superstar in the Mahesh Mathai-directed film. [caption id=“attachment_4648021” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Shah Rukh Khan and Rakesh Sharma. Image from Twitter/@IamPrashantJain[/caption] Khan will start his prep for the space film in September and shoot till late November, a source close to the development tells Mumbai Mirror. After the first schedule, he will promote Zero along with Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif for a month before getting back to resume shoot for Salute.  About the film, Salute wll revolve around the life of times of Rakesh Sharma, who took off on Soyuz T-11, a Soviet rocket on 2 April, 1984 as part of the Intercosmos programme. On reaching outer space with Commander Yury Malyshev and Flight Engineer Gennadi Strekalov who were also part of the programme, then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi held a joint television conference with him during which she asked him how India looked from space. He replied saying, “Saare Jahan Se Achha”, alluding to the patriotic poem written by Iqbal while India was still under colonial rule. The iconic moment filled millions of Indian with pride and Sharma received an epic homecoming. While the makers of Salute are eyeing a 2019 release, Zero is going to hit the screens on 21 December, 2018.