So what if SRK leads the Bollywood pack by appearing 65th on The Forbes list of world's highest paid celebs across the world? Our desi wonder woman Priyanka Chopra is not doing so badly on her own list either
Priyanka Chopra
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So what if SRK leads the Bollywood pack by appearing 65th on The Forbes list of world's highest paid celebs across the world? Our desi wonder woman Priyanka Chopra is not doing so badly on her own list either.
This week, The Hollywood Reporter released the first installment of their Top Actors on Social Media list collated from data from MVP index that ranks, measures and evaluates the biggest influencers on digital platforms. And PC ranks in second on the list. "The Top Actors chart is a ranking of the most popular actors on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Google Plus, etc." says a spokesperson.
Shah Rukh Khan
But don't crack open the bubbly just yet. The chart's methodology, we are informed, blends social engagement on the platforms along with weekly additions of followers/subscribers, and this tracking is for the week ended May 30.
And when you learn that PC stood sandwiched between Dwayne Johnson (first) and Zac Efron (third), her co-stars in her recently released Hollywood starrer, all is explained about the sudden spike in the actress' social media popularity. "Chopra's biggest metric gain is 293 percent in Facebook likes, up to 2.4 million in all, as she documented the Baywatch press tour that wrapped in Berlin, May 30. Chopra, best known in Indian cinema, made her live-action Hollywood debut in the film," says Hollywood Reporter.
SRK's ranking, on the other hand, is of the more permanent kind.
Anuvab Pal
The guessing game
Though he's playing it very close to his chest and not saying a word about it (which given his felicity with words must be especially torturous), news comes in that stand-up comedian, screenwriter, playwright and novelist Anuvab Pal has been engaged by a big American streaming platform to write and direct a soon-to-be released comedy series.
Kunaal Roy Kapur
What's more, sources say it will star actor Kunaal Roy Kapur, who's had a long time association with Pal. (He'd directed Pal's 'The President Is Coming' in 2009). Friends and fans of Pal's nuanced humour with its celebrated take on the foibles of middle-class contemporary India were saddened to hear that the wit would be off social media for a while. Meanwhile, next week, an official announcement is slated to be made on which one of the two big American streaming platforms is involved.
Shaina NC
Storm in a Twitter cup
One of the downsides of social media is that however big a celebrity you are, or how many ever many millions of followers you have, there will always be some degree of negative feedback or even abuse from some sections, as people on social media are just waiting for that one slip-up, that one mistake or error, so they can pounce to point it out. And BJP politician Shaina NC was at the receiving end of some degree of this phenomenon last night.
Suhel Seth
However, this time it wasn't an unknown 'follower,' but none other than Suhel Seth, who seized the opportunity to score brownie points; the result, an on-going exchange between the familiar Prime Time TV soundbyters that touched upon subjects as wide ranging as the use of the English language, to feminism and sexism. It all started with a seemingly innocent tweet by Shaina to wish Power, Coal and Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goel on his birthday, "The Energy Man of India has lighted 1000s of villages out of darkness since Independence". Suhel, who is a known debater and proud of his Calcutta-polished language skills, couldn't help himself and corrected the term used from 'lighted' to 'lit'. Shaina, an alumnus of Mumbai's Cathedral and John Connon School responded with a lesson in grammar, "lighted and lit both are fine; each work as the past tense and past participle of the verb light," she retorted; but Suhel would not leave it at that: "Which book? Wren and Martin? Lighted maybe correct grammar but it's incorrect usage but then you as BJP spokesman know better!" But the tweet didn't go down well with Shaina, who objected to the 'man' in 'spokesman'. And so on it went on and on, with many pointing out that Shaina's usage was indeed correct.
A bit like those Prime TV debates no?
Dolly Sidhwani, Nandita Mahtani and Bhavana Pandey
This gen's answer to bra-burning
For those old enough to recall those times, this joke will resonate — first mum to second: my teenage daughter can't wait to get her bra. Second mum to first: And mine can't wait to burn hers.
A symbol of a woman's right to freedom and refusal to be objectified or in any way controlled, bra burning had been the rage in the sixties. Now, it looks like its younger sister and this gen's version is about to enter the spotlight.
One of the images in the #JudgeMeJudgeMeNot campaign (right) Krishna Shroff for the campaign
The Mumbai-based trio of Bhavana Pandey, Dolly Sidhwani and Nandita Mahtani are soon to release a social media campaign #JudgeMeJudgeMeNot, which aims to create awareness on various social taboos women have to face in today's day, be it 'wearing short clothes'; 'being seen with too many boys'; 'using a dating app'; 'wearing too much makeup'; or 'staying out too late'.
"Living in a free country, women still continue to fight for equality on everyday issues. It is time to make a change! We are no longer here to be judged — not for being a girl, not for our attitude, and definitely not for our clothes," they say.
And towards this end, the trio have roped in a group of young influencers who will take up the cause. Nice!
Gaggan Anand
Mistaken identity
Chef Gaggan Anand of the eponymous progressive Indian restaurant in Bangkok, is one of the most famous names in the culinary world today, having won the title of best restaurant in Asia (in the prestigious San Pellegrino rankings) consecutively for the past three years, and on the whole, pony tail and goatee intact, he is a difficult person to miss or mistake for someone else.
The picture of Anjum Anand from the blog
But then again, the world is full of surprises, as a blog recently did a story describing all of Gaggan's various achievements and accolades, but referred to him as Ms. Anjum Anand throughout. "She was first keen on music before she went on to cooking," one of the lines read. What's more is that the real Anjum Anand's (the British chef and author) photo was used in the piece. Gaggan, in his characteristic manner, decided to take the hilarious opportunity to address the mistake, "Breaking news. According to this blog, I had my sex changed and name changed hahah," he posted along with many LMAO emojis!
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