Akshay Kumar's next big release in Mission Mangal with an elaborate star cast of Vidya Balan, Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari, Sonakshi Sinha, Nithya Menon and Sharman Joshi. Though the PadMan actor insists that he has a special appearance in the film, we are glad to see him collaborate with so many other talents for a project as interesting as this. There were also reports that Disha Patani was approached for the movie but she decided to walk away for reasons best known to her. However, Akshay maintains that she was never approached for it in the first place. In his recent media interaction for the promotion of 2.0, the actor cleared all the air surrounding her walk out. Unaffected by Copyright Issues, Taapsee Pannu and Team Mission Mangal Continue Shooting.

When asked if the actress was ever a part of his space drama, he said, "She was never approached. Ask me as I am the producer for the film." Well, there you go. When the film's producer has made a statement loud and clear, there's no scope left for any more speculation. Mission Mangal is India's first space movie that is based on India's Mission Mangalyaan in 2013. Mission Mangal: Vidya Balan Begins Shooting With Sanjay Kapoor for the Movie - See Pic.

Akshay's this multi-starrer project will release on August 15, 2019, and clash with John Abraham's Batla House and Rajkummar Rao's Made in China. It would yet another epic box office battle to witness between John and Akshay after their films Gold and Satyameva Jayate locked horns on the same date this year. The movie is also significant for all Nithya Menon fans as she'll be making her Bollywood debut with this big project.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 26, 2018 10:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).