Mumbai: American business magazine Forbes unveiled its list of Asia’s 100 most influential celebrities who have taken the digital world by storm.
Forbes Asia’s 100 Digital Stars list features 100 singers, bands, film, and TV stars, with a strong social media presence.
With millions of followers on various social media platforms, these digital stars have not just enjoyed the huge following, but have also used their influence to support worthy causes, especially in the challenging period of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Forbes’ most influential Bollywood stars on social media
Among the prominent faces on the Forbes list, Bollywood stars including Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, and many more have been crowned among Asia-Pacific’s most influential celebrities on social media.
Bollywood’s highest-paid actor, Akshay Kumar, is also one of India’s most-followed stars, with over 131 million followers on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. As a philanthropist, Kumar donated $4 million to Covid-19 relief in India and took part in the “I For India” fundraising concert on Facebook Live in May, which raised 520 million rupees ($7 million) for GiveIndia’s Covid-19 fund.
A veteran of over 200 movies, Amitabh Bachchan in May used his star power and 105 million social media followers to help raise $7 million for Covid-19 relief.
Other notable stars on the Forbes list include Jacqueline Fernandez, Hrithik Roshan, Neha Kakkar, Shahid Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Katrina Kaif, Anushka Sharma, and Shreya Ghoshal.
The celebrities have been recognized by Forbes for their active ability to reach out and connect despite canceled physical events, largely by using social media during the pandemic.