Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif in battle for Sh

Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif in battle for Shah Rukh Khan's Chennai Express

Who will be Shah Rukh Khan's heroine in the much-hyped Chennai Express? If the superstar has his way he will rope in Katrina Kaif, who currently seems to be SRK's co-star of choice. However, hit machine Rohit Shetty, who directs the film, is said to be considering Deepika Padukone for reasons related to availability of dates.

Rohit is said to be in a hurry to start shooting for the film in August. Super-busy Katrina may not have the dates around that time for Chennai Express, which incidentally is SRK's home production.

"Katrina has committed dates to the Yash Raj biggie Dhoom 3, her first film with Aamir Khan. She is likely to begin shooting for the film during the same period as Rohit's film starts. She is also wrapping up Yash Chopra's comeback venture as a director opposite Shah Rukh at the same time. Plus, she will be required to give dates for the promotion of her Salman Khan-starrer, Ek Tha Tiger, which releases in August during Eid," a source said.

SRK, however, is keen that Katrina work with him in Rohit's film. Ever since they started working together on Yash Chopra's untitled film, Shah Rukh has been openly praising Katrina for her zest for perfection and professionalism.

The buzz on the film is also that the two actors share sizzling chemistry in Chopra's film, and Shah Rukh obviously wants to cash in on as much by signing new projects with Katrina.

Recently, he is said to have recommended Katrina for Farah Khan's upcoming film, Happy New Year.

Rohit Shetty, however, is not willing to wait for Katrina's dates. Instead, he has decided to zero in on Deepika who is readily willing to allot dates for the film that will let her reunite on screen for the first time since her debut blockbuster of 2007, Om Shanti Om.

"Deepika is ready to do Chennai Express. The paperwork to sign her can start as soon as her dates are chalked out. She has been keen to work with SRK again after Om Shanti Om for a while now and this could be an ideal project," the source added.

The casting of Shah Rukh's costar in Chennai Express has created news ever since the film was announced a while back. Early reports said that Rohit wanted Kareena Kapoor for the role, since he has shared a good professional bond with the actress while working on Golmaal Returns and Golmaal 3.

However, Kareena has allotted bulk dates to Sanjay Leela Bhansali's next opposite Ranveer Singh around the same time and had to refuse the project. For a while, Asin's name popped up in the scene but Rohit subsequently denied approaching the actress.

The director had earlier confirmed that he was "looking for a beautiful face but someone who can brighten the screen with her acting abilities, too".