Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, SRK, Alia Bhatt among Forbes Asia’s 100 Digital Stars

The Forbes Asia 100 Digital Stars list features quite a few Indian. Along with film stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Alia Bhatt, Hrithik Roshan, Madhuri Dixit, Ranveer Singh, Katrina Kaif, Anushka Sharma, Shahid Kapoor and Jacqueline Fernandez, the list includes singers like Shreya Ghoshal and Neha Kakkar.

Pakistani singer Atif Aslam, who has become popular for his Hindi songs over the years, also finds a mention in the list. Another popular name from the neighbouring country who has been included in actress Mahira Khan.

On Bachchan’s inclusion in the list, Forbes said, 'A veteran of over 200 movies, Bachchan in May used his star power and 105 million social media followers to help raise $7 million for COVID-19 relief. Over his long career he has held elected office and been the subject of at least 11 biographies.'

Highlighting Akshay Kumar’s achievement, Forbes said, 'Bollywood's highest-paid actor, Kumar is also one of the most-followed Indian stars, with over 131 million followers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. As a philanthropist, Kumar donated $4 million (Rs29.41 crore) to COVID-19 relief and took part in ‘I For India’ fundraising concert on Facebook Live in May, which raised Rs52 crore for GiveIndia's COVID-19 fund.'

On Shah Rukh Khan aka SRK, the publication said, 'One of India’s best-known movie stars, Khan has appeared in about 80 films. While his last starring role was in 2018, Khan continues to do voice work for films and documentaries and has 106 million social media followers. The World Economic Forum honoured him in 2018 for championing women’s and children’s rights.'

About Ghoshal, the business magazine said, 'Named Female Vocalist of the Year in 2020 at India’s Mirchi Music Awards, her song ‘Apni Maati’ has over 1.5 million views on YouTube since its August release. She took part in a virtual concert in September to support Indian musicians hit by the pandemic, with her Instagram post promoting the event drawing 95,000 likes.'

The list is not limited to individuals. South Korean band BTS also finds place in it.