London: Satyajit Ray's universally acclaimed film 'Pather Panchali' made in 1955 was adjudged the top Indian film while 'Masala' directed by non-resident Indian Srinivas Krishna, has topped the British Film Institute's (BFI) Web poll for South Asian Cinema.

Ramesh Sippy's 'Sholay' comes second after 'Pather Panchali' while Oscar- nominated 'Lagaan' comes fourth after 'Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge' (DDLJ), an all time box office hit produced by Aditya Chopra.

The poll, hosted on the BFI's own Website, was open to everyone and votes were registered from across the globe.

'Masala' focuses on an Indian community in Canada and explores the experiences of an extended family, from an aunt who converses with Lord Krishna through her television, to an uncle who offers refuge to suspected terrorists in his sari shop.

Commenting on 'Masala', Imagine Asia director Cary Sawhney said, "It is great that 'Masala', one of the seminal Asian films from a Western perspective, has topped the poll for 'diaspora films'. In 1991 this film was ground breaking in combining everyday realities of urban youth in Canada with Bollywood-inspired escapist dream sequences."

Following on from the critics' poll of South Asian film announced in October, the public was invited to vote for its own favourite South Asian film titles. Both polls were divided into five sections, producing top tens for Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi cinema, with a separate category for films with contemporary Asian themes or made by Western Asians.

PTI