"The makers were impressed with him after he auditioned for the role. They felt he was fit the bill, and instantly decided to sign him," reveals an insider.
Another source says while the makers were keen to rope in Ayushmann, he did not consider the offer. "Before Amit was auditioned, Aditya had a discussion with Ayushmann, asking him to be a part of the project. But the young actor felt he would be overshadowed by Salman and therefore, avoided doing the film," adds the source.
A source close to the production house says it is not smart of Ayushmann to fear about being overshadowed by Salman: "Khan is obviously a much bigger star."
Amit, however, has chosen to remain tight-lipped about the Aditya Chopra production ever since the buzz started doing the rounds. "I am not allowed to talk about it. They (producers) will talk about it at the right time," he had said.
Ayushmann's spokesperson says, "As a policy, we do not ever comment on projects unless we are committed to it."