Salute: Are Deepika Padukone and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan shortlisted for female lead?

Shah Rukh Khan will next be seen in Rakesh Sharma's biopic Salute. The female lead of the film is not yet decided but according to a report in Bollywood Hungama, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Deepika Padukone have been shortlisted for the role in the film.

Both are big actresses in the film industry. They were recently spotted slaying the red carpet at Cannes Film Festival 2018.

A source revealed to Bollywood Hungama, "The makers of Salute have been on the lookout for the lead actress for some time now and have finally narrowed it down to just two names viz. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Deepika Padukone."

Taking about the same, the source further revealed, "Though as of now it is just these two names, a final decision will be taken soon and an official announcement of the same will be made via the known media networks. However, till then everyone will have to await the final credit list of the film."

Meanwhile, Shah Rukh Khan is busy shooting for Anand L Rai's Zero, also starring Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma. He is also keen on staring the shoot for Salute in September 2018. The reason behind choosing a date in September is because Shah Rukh would be able to take a break to promote Zero after working on Salute.

There aren't any official announcements yet. In fact, the spokesperson of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has denied the news and maintained that the actress has been approached for the role. Let's wait and see who will bag the role finally.