Shah Rukh Khan has topped the inaugural Forbes India Celebrity 100 list, a ranking of India’s biggest entertainers based on their income and popularity. Salman Khan and MS Dhoni, who closely followed SRK in the ranking, might be more famous, but King Khan landed at the No 1 spot in the Celebrity 100, thanks to his earning power which by Forbes India estimates is Rs 202.8 crore, compared to Salman’s Rs 144.2 crore and Dhoni’s Rs 135.16 crore between October 2011 and September 2012.  Akshay Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan are the other two celebrities in the top five.

The Forbes India top 10 Celebs include :

1

Shah Rukh Khan

2

Salman Khan

3

MS Dhoni

4

Akshay Kumar

5

Amitabh Bachchan

6

Sachin Tendulkar

7

Kareena Kapoor

8

Virender Sehwag

9

Virat Kohli

10

Katrina Kaif

The list is an attempt to rank the most powerful and the most popular of the players who are at the centre of this sector. The list ranks celebrities across eight categories – Actors, Sportspersons, TV personalities (Malaika Arora Khan, who earned Rs 5.65 crore), Comedians (Vir Das, Rs 1.6 crore), Directors (Karan Johar Rs 10 crore), Models (Esha Gupta, Rs 93.75 lakh) and Musicians (AR Rahman Rs 32.91 crore).It was compiled based on a rigorous process that considered their income (from the business of entertainment) and fame (as measured by media mentions, online presence, social media followers). A majority of celebrities fall in the age bracket of 30 to 50. However, that hasn’t prevented a clutch of 12 youngsters like Saina Nehwal, Virat Kohli, Anusukha Sharma and Sania Mirza from breaking into the top 50.