Having spent her childhood and most of her youth watching Raj Kapoor movies, Aiman Kushkambayev, a movie buff in this former capital of Kazakhstan, cannot get over "the nation’s enormous love" for the Indian film legend.

Indian films and actors continue to be big hits in this former Soviet republic, a land of rich art and culture, which has its own well acclaimed traditional cinema - but currently "not in great shape", say experts.

Though, modern Indian cinema has