After the success of critically acclaimed Padman this year, filmmaker R Balki is now gearing up to produce a big adventure film. Claimed to be India's first space film, it is said to be based on the inspiring story of India's Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) 2014. Balki's assistant director Jagan Shakti is making his directorial debut with this female-driven film which will have as many as five female leads headlining the cast. Vidya Balan and Akshay Kumar have reportedly been already locked and now Peepingmoon.com has exclusively learned about the second actress who has joined the cast of it.

We heard Taapsee Pannu has also been finalized to play one of the women Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists who worked on the historic Mangalyan Yatra. "The film celebrates the contribution of a team of women ISRO scientists who played significant roles in pulling off the space mission which made India the first Asian nation to reach the Mars orbit in the first attempt. Vidya plays the leader of the team of the female scientists while Taapsee and other heroines will be seen playing the rest of the team members. Radhika Apte, Sonakshi Sinha, Nimrat Kaur and Nithya Menon are in talks for rest casts but only Vidya and Taapsee are confirmed so far," a source close to the project informed us.

The source further added that the pre-production of the film has already begun and will go on floors by the end of November. "It's an extensively documented film and will be made on a grand scale. Jagan Shakti who is helming it has been working on this project for over a year and has written a solid script which is surely going to make audiences gaga over it."

Akshay Kumar, besides playing an integral role in the whole part, will also co-produce the film along with R Balki's Hope Productions and Viacom 18 Movies. The announcement of the film is likely to be made in a few weeks.