The movie, the story of dying man seeking love in the Big Apple, won Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor and Actress.

No other film won more than two honours at the event late on Saturday.

But Shahrukh lost out in the leading actor category to Hrithik Roshan, who won for science fiction movie ?Koi Mil Gaya?, or ?I Met Someone?, directed by the movie's other winner of the night - Rakesh Roshan.

The film, about a young man transformed after meeting a being from outer space, was India's biggest box office hit last year.

"Thank you for making a dream come true," said Hrithik, his voice rising to be heard above the screams from the more than 8000 in attendance at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Preity Zinta won best actress for her role as Shahrukh's love interest Naina in ?Kal Ho Naa Ho? ? which means ?Tomorrow Might Not Be There? in Hindi.

The film was shot in Toronto and New York, with winning scriptwriter Karan Johar saying the crew had to brave the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in Canada and the massive blackout in the eastern United States to produce "our labour of love".

The movie also won awards for Best Music Direction, Best Lyrics and Best Story.

Fans queue for hours

Fans queued outside the stadium for hours in sweltering heat to catch a glimpse of the stars of Indian cinema as they sauntered down the red carpet. The awards presentation ended a three-day festival that included a celebrity soccer game, a forum on the globalisation of Bollywood, and at least four movie premieres.

The screams were loudest for Shahrukh when he leapt on stage and began gyrating and dancing in a 10-minute tribute ? complete with fireworks ? to Dilip Kumar, one of the pioneers of India's now-booming film industry.

More than 300 stars flew in from India to attend to festival.

"Indian cinema speaks the language of emotion. It's a reflection of life itself, a mirror image of the people of India itself," legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan said in opening the show.

Bachchan, who has starred in more than 100 films and was described in a media guide as the "Sean Connery of Bollywood," was also nominated in the best actor category for "Baghban".

Special awards were given to Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan ? who also won for Best Supporting Actor as Shahrukh's rival in ?Kal Ho Naa Ho? ? for the Diva and Style Icon honours respectively.

Winners selected by global Internet poll

The awards, which began in 2000, are presented at a location outside of India each year to promote an industry that churns out three times more movies than Hollywood each year. An estimated half a billion people watched the awards show, mainly in the Indian subcontinent.

Winners are selected by a global Internet poll in which more than a billion votes were tallied.

Bachchan's wife, Jaya, won for actress in a supporting role and received her award from son Abhisek, another rising star of Indian cinema.

Previous award shows have been held in London, Sun City, Johannesburg and Genting Highlands, Malaysia.

Sapa-AP