Topping the Forbes India Celebrity 100 List seems to have become a habit for Salman Khan.
On the back of Rs.253.25 crore earned through his film releases, television appearances and brand endorsements between October 1, 2017, and September 30, 2018 (our period under consideration), the 52-year-old actor became India's highest-paid celebrity on the list for the third consecutive year.
What is heartening, though, is that a sportsperson is challenging an actor's domination at the top for the first time. At No 2 is cricketer Virat Kohli, with Rs.228.09 crore in earnings. Actor Akshay Kumar with Rs.185 crore climbs up a spot to No 3.
Kohli is the number 1 batsman in the world and has a huge fan base; he is also an advertiser's dream and endorses many products.
The Indian captain endorses big brands lie Audi, Gionee, Tissot, and MRF among many more. Meanwhile Sachin Tendulkar is on the ninth place with the earning of Rs. 80 crore.
Actor Deepika Padukone at No 4 with Rs.112.8 crore is the highest-earning woman celebrity, and becomes the first woman to break into the top five positions since the inception of the List in 2012. However, there are 18 women on the List this year, down from 21 in 2017.
Similar is the case with Priyanka Chopra who slips from No 7 last year Rs.68 crore to No 49 Rs.18 crore in 2018.
It was inevitable that actor Shah Rukh Khan, who did not have a single release during the period under review, would lose the second spot that he held last year with earnings of Rs.170.5 crore.
However, despite his earnings dropping to Rs.56 crore, he is at No 13, proving his strong pull as the face of several consumer brands.
With cumulative earnings of Rs.3,140.25 crore, it was a lucrative year for the 100 celebrities on the list. Last year, the figure was 17 percent lower at Rs.2,683 crore.
