Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has said it was high time that Indian cinema break its shackles to let the world know that the country was "not just an exotic nation of snake charmers" and get recognised on its own merit.

"I think it is the time that our film industry to get recognised on it's own merit. It is time that Indian films and film makers and the audience do not have to be on the periphery of world cinema," Shah Rukh said while speaking to the media in London on Monday night.

"I think and I believe we are as good as it gets. I want everyone to know that and that would happen if we all believe that we are not just an exotic nation of snake charmers but a media literate and educated upcoming economy," the actor, whose film Paheli is vying for an Oscar nomination, said.

Shah Rukh, who was on his way to Los Angeles to lobby for the Oscar nominations, said Indian films had so far got only "a small opportunity and a little window globally".

"Our effort is to make it a world-wide phenomena."

King Khan, who has received numerous national honours, is lobbying hard for Paheli. SRK's film has been nominated as India's official entry to the Oscars this year. Currently, SRK is in London to gather support for his film.

Interacting with a group of Indians at the Nehru Centre, Shah Rukh, who turned 40 last month, said that a long road lay ahead before him and winning laurels at home was more satisfying than getting an Oscar.

"When I received Padma Shri award from the President, I was so humbled that I personally did not think I had done enough and I think I have a long long way to go," he said.

Speaking about India's Oscar nominee Paheli, in which he plays the lead role, the Bollywood star said, "there is no greater award than the recognition from your own country. On the side if I get Oscar, it is nice too."

Admitting that Paheli, directed by Amol Palekar and starring Rani Mukherjee in the lead female role, was not a "huge" commerical success, Shah Rukh said the film dealt with a "woman's right to make a choice".

Paheli, based on the novel by leading Rajasthani writer Vijaydan Detha, is the story of a ghost who falls in love with a woman, then takes the form of her husband to be with her.

A brief preview of the film was shown on the occasion before Shah Rukh addressed the gathering and fielded questions from the audience.

Present on the occasion were Indian High Commissioner to the UK Kamalesh Sharma, Deputy High Commissioner Ranjan Mathai, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords Lord Navnit Dholakia, film maker Gurinder Chadha and actor Syed Jaffri.

Sharma lauded the role played by Indian films in building bridges between cultures and projecting India's rich traditions abroad.

Paheli beat 14 other films including Swades, Veer-Zara, Black, Parineeta, Page 3, Iqbal, Mangal Pandey and Marathi film Uttarayan for the nomination.

Ashutosh Gowariker's Lagaan starring Aamir Khan, Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas and Marathi film Shwwas were nominated for Oscars in the last few years.

Some of India's earlier entries to the Oscars included Mehboob Khan's Mother India (1957), Guru Dutt's Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam (1963), Shyam Benegal's Ankur (1974) and Manthan (1978) and Mahesh Bhatt's Saransh (1985).