SKY REVEALS THE REAL KING AND QUEEN OF BOLLYWOOD
(17 May 2004)

New research by Sky Digital revealed that 'Sholay' is the UK's greatest Indian movie of all time with Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol voted King and Queen of the Bollywood screen. The research uncovered some of the key attitudes of the UK's one million strong Indian community to the Hindi film industry. It showed that 76% of the UK's Indian community have watched Bollywood films at some time and surprisingly the biggest fans are between 21 -24 years old!

There has undoubtedly been a huge resurgence in the appeal of Bollywood, with more than 65% of South Asians in the UK visiting the cinema at least once a month to watch the latest releases from the world's largest film industry. Carried out by independent research company Ethnic Focus amongst 500 Indians living in the UK, the survey showed that:

· Sholay was voted the all time favourite movie receiving one in three votes. Although the film was released nearly 30 years ago, and one of the two leads is now in retirement, the film shows its amazing cult status and longevity. Sholay was ranked as first choice amongst all age groups questioned. Unexpectedly more women voted this as their favourite compared to men in the sample.

· The Favourite Actor category highlighted an interesting cross-generational trend with the 60 year old veteran of the Indian film industry, Amitabh Bachchan gaining 33% of votes, beating many other younger hopefuls. Although he may need to watch his back, as over a quarter of the sample did put Shah Rukh Khan as their favourite.

· Nothing can falter queen bee Aishwarya Rai's reign in the popularity stakes, with the rumour mill running in overdrive with her in the running to be the next Bond girl. Rai's fame and status has been recognised with 30% of our sample voting her as their Favourite Actress of all time. Madhuri Dixit proves that she's still a major force in the industry, even though she's a full time mama and comes in second place with 17% of the vote.

· The on-screen chemistry between the hero and heroine in a Bollywood movie is key to the success of the movie. Dilwale Dulhaniye Le Jayenge is officially the longest running film in Indian cinemas and is true testimony to the winners of the Favourite On-Screen Couple category. A quarter of the sample voted Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol as their favourite on-screen couple of all time. And for a change men and women didn't appear to disagree!

· A Bollywood movie would not be the same, without its flamboyant song and dance routines, however more recently the production values of these films have become far more sophisticated. The music and lyrics express the emotion of the movie and if the soundtrack is good the film automatically becomes a success. This is mirrored by our sample of the Top three all time favourite songs:

1. Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham (Song/Movie)
2. Dola (song) / Devdas (movie)
3. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (Song/Movie

· Just as song and dance are important in a Bollywood movie, so are the villains and the vamps…without whom the story would literally fall apart. The Bollywood Baddie selected by the poll has made a real impression on the sample, with 49% voting for Amrish Puri as their favourite bad guy of all time.

· So what makes a bad Bollywood movie? The film that deserves the biggest raspberry award goes to AKS, this was voted the worst movie of all time, across our whole sample range, followed by Roop Ki Rani and Boom coming in 3rd place!

This research was commissioned by Sky to coincide with the launch of the new Sky Asian Mix pack which includes Star Plus and Star News is available for just £16.50 per month.