Abhishek Bachchan is making news as the most-favored star for a new Bollywood thriller based on the theft of the priceless rock that rocks the Indian psyche – the Kohinoor diamond.

The Kohinoor finds pride of place in the royal gems of Britain. Efforts to get the gem back to India have hit the headlines in the past. Pakistan too, has laid claim to it.

Reports say that Abhishek Bachchan and Salman Khan are tipped to play lead roles as spies on a mission to get the Kohinoor back to the country to which it belongs.

The script is presently being finalized by two well-known production houses who are in a race to start the project – Rajkumar Santoshi and Adlabs.

While Adlabs wants to cast Abhishek as the protagonist, Santoshi has chosen Salman Khan to be the hero.

"But Abhishek is busy and not available immediately for making Mission Kohinoor," say Adlabs sources, "We are still in talks and will finalize the cast soon!"