Salman Khan richest Indian celebrity, Deepika Padukone highest-paid actress

Indian cricket skipper Virat Kohli is at number two position after minting Rs 2.28 billion on Forbes India Celebrity 100 list

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 Rs 2.53 billion through his films, TV appearances and brand endorsements between October 1, 2017, and September 30, 2018 (period under consideration).

With Rs 1.13 billion, 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 (Rs 680 million) and settled for No 49 with Rs 180 million as earnings in 2018.

Indian cricket skipper Virat Kohli is at number two position after minting Rs 2.28 billion. 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 Rs 560 million this year.

Kohli is followed by Akshay Kumar (Rs 1.85 billion) on No 3 - a step up for the actor.

Aamir Khan ranks sixth with Rs 975 million, closely followed by his "Thugs of Hindostan" co-star Amitabh Bachchan at No 7 with Rs 961.7 million as earnings.

Ranveer Singh is number eight with Rs 846.7 million and Ajay Devgn ranks tenth on the list with Rs 745 million.

Cricketers Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar have bagged the fifth (Rs 1.0177 billion) and ninth (Rs 800 million) 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 Rs 31.4025 billion, which is 17 per cent higher than last year's Rs 26.83 billion.