Amitabh Bachchan says Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan deserve credit for making Hindi films famous globally.

Of course, filmmakers such as Satyajit Ray, Bimal Roy and Mrinal Sen and actors like Raj Kapoor won people’s hearts with their craft, but the visibility of Indian films — Hindi and regional — currently seems to be at an all-time high.

The movies are not just getting screen space in international film festivals but also theatrical releases in an increasing number of non-traditional foreign markets such as Peru, Panama and Morocco.

That gives Bachchan, whom French director Francois Truffaut once called a “one-man industry”, reason to cheer.

“Internationally, it is very heartening to see the interest in Indian cinema,” the 71-year-old said.

He added: “For many years in the time when I started, cinema was not marketed or promoted the way it is now. We didn’t know about these markets. There were international distributors, but we never knew exactly what used to happen to a film — we used to give it at a pittance because we never realised that people outside would want to watch a Hindi film or any Indian film.

“But somewhere the generation that came immediately after us — Shah Rukh, Salman, Aamir and [filmmaker] Karan Johar too — they pushed this potential into the international world. So if you want to give credit for the recognition, these are the people who should be credited,” Bollywood’s erstwhile ‘Angry young man’ said.

He added that films such as Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, which “became an iconic film in the western world”, helped understand that Indian films had potential abroad.

“Shah Rukh is as popular in Germany as he is here, Hrithik [Roshan] and Salman and Aamir are loved internationally in equal proportion. So, obviously Indian cinema is doing well.

“The fact that there are festivals that invite our films and personalities and stars, is also wonderful. Marrakech, Cannes, Berlin, US, Britain...that’s wonderful,” said Bachchan, who is due to attend the Melbourne International Film Festival towards the end of July.