Dear reader, you impress us every time.

We needed to discover which stars were truly connecting with you -- who was the biggest not just in terms of box office persona but also in terms of sheer image.

So we asked you to pick Bollywood's most powerful celebrities, and here's what you came up with.

In the first part of this two-part series, we present Bollywood's most powerful male celebrities.

A R Rahman

It's quite a big deal for a non-acting celebrity to show up in a reader-driven poll, but then if we're talking about Oscar-winning AR Rahman, big deals are the way to go.

It's refreshing to see that Rediff readers haven't forgotten Sunny paaji, the man behind industry-shaking hits like Gadar and Border. Looks like you guys think he's not done yet, and we hope you're right.

He might not have had a great start to 2009 with Chandni Chowk To China and 8x10 Tasveer, but Akshay Kumar's still kicking with hits like Kambakkht Ishq and the upcoming hype-creator Blue.

The youngest man on your powerlist, and deservedly so. Hrithik Roshan hasn't had a solo release in a while, but he was at the top of his game in Luck By Chance and things are only going to get bigger with Kites.

At one point he was the biggest Khan in Bollywood, but while Salman might not be the top draw in the industry, he still has a lot going for him: Wanted and Main Aurr Mrs Khanna might well be the biggest films of 2009.

Clearly a lot of you weren't impressed with Shah Rukh Khan making headlines more for his airport detention than his films in 2009, and here we see King Khan slipping down the charts.

He can do anything, can't he? He acts in a super-commercial Ghajini, produces a heartwarming Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na and directs the sensitive Taare Zameen Par. No wonder Aamir's beaten SRK.

Yet while the Khans and their kingdoms are all well and good, but for you, dear readers, there is clearly still only one Shahenshah. Bachchan tops the poll with a huge margin and we're sure you're all eagerly waiting for his next, Aladin.