Salman Khan Tops Forbes India Celebrity 100 List - Again

Salman Khan at an event.

(Photo:  Yogen Shah)

Superstar Salman Khan has once again maintained the top spot in Forbes India Celebrity 100 list for the second consecutive year. The ‘Badshah’ of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan and India’s cricket captain Virat Kohli took the second and third spot respectively with actor Priyanka Chopra named as only female celebrity in top 10 list.

The 2017 Forbes India Celebrity 100 List rankings are based on estimates of entertainment-related earnings of celebrities. The period under consideration is October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017.

The methodology for calculating the ranking may have changed this year (to exclude the “fame” quotient), but the list’s top three names have remained constant.

The 51-year-old Salman, for the second successive year, grabbed the top spot, despite the subdued box office performance of his film Tubelight. The actor earned ₹232.83 crore, backed by endorsements of several consumer-facing brands. In fact, his earnings constitute 8.67% of the total earnings — ₹2,683 crore — of the top 100 celebrities for the year.

Shah Rukh Khan, with ₹170.5 crore, also retained his position at number two as did India’s cricket captain Virat Kohli, with ₹100.72 crore, at third spot..

Although the top three held on to their ranks, their cumulative earnings declined by almost 20 %, down to ₹504.05 crore compared to last year’s total of ₹626.52 crore.

Joy Chakraborthy, CEO — Forbes India and President — Revenue, TV18, said, “We are delighted to present yet another collector’s edition of Forbes India which will hit the stands soon. Over the years this list has established itself as the definitive benchmark of who’s making what in the entire entertainment world.”

“This year’s Celebrity 100 list is based on a revised methodology focusing on the celebrities’ earnings, thus reflecting in better representation and hence a well-rounded Celebrity list of 100.”

The revised methodology this year, focusing only on a celebrity’s earnings (compared to the previous combination of ‘fame’ and ‘earnings’), has increased representation from the prolific South Indian film industry.

There are 13 actors from the South this year as against 11 last year. The number of Bollywood actors is down from 35 to 33, reducing their cumulative earnings by 13% from the previous year.

Shuttler PV Sindhu (₹57.25 crore) was the highest money gainer (in percentage terms), as her total earnings soared nearly 17 times, propelled by several brand endorsements following her 2016 Rio Olympics silver medal. There is only one woman in the top 10, Priyanka Chopra (₹68 crore) at number 7, as she continued to make her mark internationally.

The overall earnings of the Celebrity 100 declined this year, from ₹2,745 crore in 2016 to ₹2,683 crore this year.