Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Aamir Khan, Deepika Padukone, and others, are in the Forbes list of highest paid Bollywood actors.
Silverscreen had earlier reported on the Forbes list of highest paid entertainment industry stars – which featured artists Beyonce, P Diddy, and others, as well as SRK, Akshay Kumar. Now, the publication has released a list exclusively for Bollywood cinema.
Topping the list is Shah Rukh Khan, with a total of USD 38 million, in earnings and endorsement deals. Second on the list is Salman Khan, with USD 37 million, followed by Akshay Kumar, in third, with USD 35.5 million. Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra, the only two women in the top 10 lists, earned USD 11 million, and USD 10 million, respectively.
Aamir Khan, who only had one release in 2017, and who doesn’t endorse many products, still managed to earn USD 12.5 million in the year, and with Dangal now breaking box offices in China, Korea, Hong Kong and other countries, could earn more next year from the film.
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A story in The Indian Express, reporting on the list, points out that the poor representation of women in the top earners list points to Bollywood’s gender gap. However, Hindustan Times, in its report of the story, spins it as a contest between Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, with Deepika winning. Never mind that the five people ahead of her are all men.