Shah Rukh Khan to begin shooting for Aanand L Rai's film in December?

Shah Rukh Khan, during "Dilwale" promotions, had said he might do a film with Aanand L Rai. The director now says he will begin working on his next by December this year.

Although Aanand maintained the cast is yet to be finalised, one can't help but put two and two together. "Himanshu (Sharma) is currently busy scripting, and once we lock the script and once the actors get finalised, we will start shooting. Hopefully, we should start rolling by this year-end," Box Office India quoted him as saying.

There have been a bunch of interesting speculations around this particular project. Earlier this year, it was widely reported that Ranveer Singh had replaced SRK in it, but the buzz settled quickly. Much before this happened, sources had revealed the director was interested in cashing in on the Shah Rukh-Deepika chemistry.

"Aanand L Rai is planning to cast Deepika Padukone in his next. He doesn't want to work with Kangana for his next again; he wants to change things a bit and that's why he wants to cast Deepika," an insider informed BollywoodLife.

Meanwhile, Shah Rukh has immersed himself in "Fan" promotions. The Maneesh Sharma directorial, which is slated for an April 15 release, follows the story of Gaurav Chandana (SRK) and his obsession for superstar Aryan Khanna (also SRK).

The superstar has wrapped up Rahul Dholakia's "Raees," in which he plays a bootlegger from Gujarat in the 1980s. The thriller is scheduled for an Eid release, and as far as reports go, it may clash with Salman Khan's "Sultan."