MUMBAI: The Madhubala and Dilip Kumar starrer, Mughal-e-Azam has been awarded the greatest Bollywood film of all time by a poll celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema in the UK. As part of the survey conducted by British Asian weekly newspaper Eastern Eye, filmmaker K Asif’s 1960s epic beat off the tough competition to bag the top spot. Sholaywas ranked second.

It was a great moment of pride and honor for the entire family according to Akbar Asif, the son of the late filmmaker. For him, Mughal-e-Azam showed all the most impossible dreams that came true.

The iconic film not only smashed box office records when it was first released but was also successfully coloured and re-released in 2004. Its plot of a doomed affair between Prince Salim and courtesan Anarkali captured hearts all over the world and in 2006 it became the first Bollywood film to get a release in Pakistan after a gap of 41 years.

The results of the survey were drawn up by combining audience votes through various forms of social media, box office figures, cinematic impact and critical acclaim. The rest of the top 10 in the ‘100 Greatest Bollywood Movies List‘ include Sholay, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Mother India, Awaara, Deewar, 3 Idiots, Kabhi Kabhie, Andaz and Maine Pyar Kiya.

The lead stars with most movies in the top 10 are Amitabh Bachchan and Nargis, who feature in three each. The late Yash Chopra is the filmmaker with the maximum movies in the top 10 slots, two as director and one as producer.