Sanjay Leela Bhansali is set to score a casting coup for his next, 'Padmavati'. The filmmaker, we hear, is in the process of finalising an industry biggie to play king to Deepika Padukone's titular character post Vicky Kaushal's exit from the project. Buzz is that SLB is torn between Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan.

A source working on the project says, "Bhansali is looking for an established actor since it is a powerful role and will challenge Ranveer Singh's anti-hero, Alauddin Khilji. There has to be some chemistry between the actor and Deepika, especially for intimate scenes. Who better than an SRK or a Hrithik to play king Rawal Ratan Singh to the beautiful Padmavati?"

Vicky, who was last seen in 'Raman Raghav 2.0' with Nawazuddin Siddiqui, was initially in consideration, but he reportedly lost out on the opportunity by revealing his association with the film early on. Some believe Deepika's reluctance to romance the three-film-old actor on screen led to his ouster. Bhansali then turned his focus to Hrithik and Shah Rukh with whom he has worked in the past.


"The filmmaker seems to be favouring the Hrithik-Deepika pairing at this stage since their on-screen chemistry is unexplored. On the other hand, Shah Rukh has shown interest in the project. Bhansali is expected to take a decision shortly as the project is scheduled to roll in September," says the source.

A few reports claim Shahid Kapoor has caught SLB's attention too, but our sources say the contest is between Shah Rukh and Hrithik alone.

Bhansali's spokesperson, however, maintained, "There has been a lot of speculation surrounding the casting of Padmavati. This is to clarify that no names have been confirmed so far. An official announcement will be made once the cast is finalised."

Hrithik and Shah Rukh remained unavailable for comment.