Mumbai, Apr 6 (PTI) Superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan will be back as Pathaan and Tiger in a crossover film for Yash Raj Films' ambitious spy universe, say trade sources.

Conceptualised by YRF boss Aditya Chopra, the 'YRF Spy Universe' brings three franchises headlined by leading stars -- Salman's "Tiger" movies, Shah Rukh's "Pathaan" and Hrithik Roshan's "War" -- under one umbrella.

The studio's recent blockbuster "Pathaan" marked the beginning of the cinematic universe with a cameo by Salman as Avinash Singh Rathore aka Tiger. It also had plenty of references to Hrithik's "War" character, Kabir Dhaliwal.

Titled "Tiger vs Pathaan", the film will be directed by Siddharth Anand, who most recently helmed Shah Rukh-starrer "Pathaan", which had a guest appearance by Salman as Tiger.

The new movie, which will be an action spectacle, will showcase a ruthless face-off between the two top stars of Hindi cinema, who earlier starred together in movies such as "Karan Arjun" and "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai".

"Aditya Chopra has immense trust in Siddharth Anand to deliver a grand visual spectacle that has never been seen before with 'Tiger vs Pathaan'.

"Siddharth is getting a dream cast of Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan coming together for their first full fledged film since 'Karan Arjun' and Siddharth will also be given all the support he needs to mount Tiger vs Pathaan as the biggest film that India has ever produced," the trade source said.

The development comes days after reports that the studio has hired "Brahmastra" filmmaker Ayan Mukerji to direct the second installment of Hrithik's "War". It was also widely reported "RRR" star Jr NTR will feature opposite Hrithik in "War 2".

"Pathaan", which also featured Deepika Padukone, John Abraham, Dimple Kapadia and Ashutosh Rana, was released in theatres worldwide in January. The film earned over Rs 1,000 crore at the global box office.

Salman will be back as Tiger in "Tiger 3", which will see Shah Rukh reprise the role of Pathaan. The film scheduled to hit the screens this Diwali.

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ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.

“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.

The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.

Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.

There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.