'Saare Jahan Se Aacha' is not shelved: Siddharth Roy Kapur

Film producer Siddharth Roy Kapur has said that his dream project "Saare Jahan Se Aacha", based on the life of astronaut Rakesh Sharma, is not shelved.

Superstar Aamir Khan was the first actor to be cast in the the biopic. Shah Rukh Khan was also close to lock the deal but things didn't materialise.

Names of Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal have cropped up but there has been no official confirmation on it.

The film will be directed by Mahesh Mathai.

"We are waiting for it to happen like bated breath. There is nothing to say on it right now (in terms of casting) as and when we will have an announcement to make, we will. It is not shelved. We definitely want to make it.

"It is a wonderful script. Mahesh and Anjum Rajabali (writer) have been working on it for the last few years. Ronnie Screwala (producer) and I are committed to make it," Siddharth told PTI during a set visit of his Netflix project "Yeh Ballet".

Directed by Sooni Taraporevala, the film premiered on the streaming platform on February 21.

"Yeh Ballet" tells the story of two young boys from lower-income families - Manish Chauhan and Amiruddin Shah, who are discovered by an Israeli ballet master and go on to earn scholarships to prestigious dance schools abroad.

"What interested me was the juxtaposition of the background the boys come from with a dance form like ballet. It seems these things do not go together. This intrigued me.

"When I learnt Sooni has already made a documentary on it, we spoke and I felt it could be a film and from there, things just grew. The excitement was about how such disparate factors can come together to make something magical," Siddharth said.

The filmmaker said with Netflix on board, the aim is to reach out to a wider audience both nationally and internationally as he believes the film has a universal message.

"It is a mainstream film. It is about human endeavour and going against seemingly insurmountable odds to be able to achieve impossible dreams. This is universal. It has the ability to reach out to the audience in India and abroad," he added.