Big B, Akshay, Alia among celebs in Forbes Asia 100 Digital Stars list

Mumbai, Dec 9  Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt and Hrithik Roshan feature in the Forbes list of Most Influential Celebrities on Social Media in the Asia-Pacific region. The list also mentions Katrina Kaif, Anushka Sharma, Jacqueline Fernandez, Shahid Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, besides singers Shreya Ghoshal and Neha Kakkar.

In the inaugural 100 Digital Stars list, Forbes Asia highlights celebrities who, despite cancelled physical events and activities, managed to remain active using social media to interact with their fans, raise awareness, inspire optimism and even helped causes like Covid-19 relief. The list comes without any ranking.

In the list, Big B has been credited for raising $7 million for Covid-19 relief this year.

Describing Akshay as Bollywood’s highest-paid actor, the list states that the actor 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 Rs 520 million ($7 million) for GiveIndia’s Covid-19 fund.

The list also includes international stars like Hugh Jackman, Chris Hemsworth, South Korean girl band Blackpink, boy band BTS, actor and singer Jay Chou, Lee Min-ho and actors Mahira Khan, and singers Atif Aslam, Troye Sivan among others.

As per the list, Hrithik appeared in May’s “I for India” concert to raise funds for Covid-19 workers. His Instagram post of the event drew over 2 million views.

Forbes Asia’s 100 Digital Stars list evaluated the candidates’ based on the social media reach and engagement, their recent work, impact and advocacy, brand endorsements and business endeavours. Their recognition profile on a local, regional and global level were also considered.