London: Amitabh Bachchan has emerged as the greatest Bollywood star in a UK poll celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema.

The multi-award winning actor of countless classics bagged major share of votes from critics, fans and the film fraternity to be named on top in the survey `100 Greatest Bollywood Stars` published by British Asian weekly newspaper `Eastern Eye`.

In a career spanning an incredible 40 years, 70-year-old Bachchan blockbusters like `Sholay` and `Deewar`. He is also credited with bridging the gap between Bollywood and TV by hosting popular game show `Kaun Banega Crorepati`.

Referred to as Big B by his fans, Bachchan was also the first Bollywood star to be honoured with a statue at Madame Tussauds and recently represented India as the Olympic torch-bearer at the London 2012 Games.

"If you take longevity, impact, number of fans and varied body of work into account then Amitabh Bachchan is the greatest movie star in the history of global cinema. No other movie star has remained at the very top for as long as he has or made a positive impact on the lives of so many," said Asjad Nazir, showbiz editor of the magazine.

The survey was compiled via a combination of audience votes through social media, box-office figures, cinematic impact and critical acclaim.

Bachchan`s own choice and yesteryears acting legend Dilip Kumar came in second with Shah Rukh Khan coming in a close third.

Madhuri Dixit topped the survey among Bollywood`s female actresses and was placed fourth in the overall list.

"I am proud to be a part of that and I am also proud to be a part of the whole movement where cinema is getting better and we are trying to do something different," Madhuri said.

"It`s wonderful to be highly placed, but it also comes with a great sense of responsibility on my shoulders where I have to do better every time when I am doing something. So I love it and I love what I do," she added.

The others who made it to the top 10 included names like Raj Kapoor (5), Nargis (6), Dev Anand (7), Waheeda Rehman (8), Rajesh Khanna (9) and Sridevi (10).

Other notable stars to make the cut include Salman Khan (11), Aamir Khan (14), Dharmendra (15), Hema Malini (18), Madhubala (24), Kajol (30), Hrithik Roshan (32), Rani Mukerji (38), Kareena Kapoor (43), Mumtaz (50), Saif Ali Khan (59), Priyanka Chopra (86) and Katrina Kaif (93).

PTI