Bachchan got maximum votes from housewives — 19 percent — and those in the 35 to 45 age category in the survey of 1,005 people in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore.
He was also the overwhelming choice in the Indian capital, where he completed college, where 31 percent voted for him.
Tendulkar, currently playing for India in a cricket series against South Africa, was second ranked, despite a slump in form over the past year.
Gandhi, who pipped Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the survey was the second most popular choice along with Tendulkar despite Hindu nationalist politicians questioning her foreign birth.
Singh, steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal — who is of Indian origin — and Bollywood actors Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai each followed with four percent votes each.
Abhishek is Amitabh Bachchan's son.
Bachchan has several new films lined up for next year. In 2002, he was voted as the most popular screen and stage icon of all time on a BBC online survey.
RSS