Bollywood actor Salman Khan has emerged as the richest Indian celebrity for the third time in a row, according to a Forbes list.
The 52-year-old superstar bagged the numero uno spot on Forbes India Celebrity 100 list.
According to the publication, Khan earned ₹253.25 crore through his films, TV appearances and brand endorsements between October 1, 2017, and September 30, 2018 (period under consideration).
With ₹112.8 crore, Deepika Padukone is No 4 on the list as the highest-earning woman celebrity. The Padmaavat star has become the first woman to break into the top five positions since the inception of the list in 2012.
Priyanka Chopra lost her last year’s seventh rank (₹68 crore) and settled for No 49 with ₹18 crore as earnings in 2018.
Indian cricket skipper Virat Kohli is at number two position after minting ₹228.09 crore. He is the first sportsperson to make it to the spot, regularly dominated by a showbiz personality.
With no release during the period under review, Shah Rukh Khan slipped from his number two position to No 13 after raking in ₹56 crore this year.
Kohli is followed by Akshay Kumar (₹185 crore) on No 3 — a step up for the actor.
Aamir Khan ranks sixth with ₹97.5 crore, closely followed by his Thugs of Hindostan co-star Amitabh Bachchan at No 7 with ₹96.17 as earnings.
Ranveer Singh is number eight with ₹84.67 crores and Ajay Devgn ranks tenth on the list with ₹74.5 crores.
Cricketers Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar have bagged the fifth (₹101.77 crore) and ninth (₹80 crore) positions.
As for women representation, there are 18 names on the list this year — three down from 21 in 2017.
Actors Alia Bhatt, Anushka Sharma, Katrina Kaif and shuttlers PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal are part of the 100.
The list also includes an mix of first-timers, including DJ Nucleya, Malayalam star Mammootty, Telugu star Vijay Deverakonda and Telugu director Kortala Siva.
The cumulative earnings figure for 2018 amounted to ₹3,140.25 crore, which is 17 per cent higher than last year’s ₹2,683 crore.