Virat Kohli leads and is among the top 20 globally
Top 10 Most Followed Persons on Instagram in India: In today’s fast-paced, digital world, social media networks have fundamentally reshaped how we connect and communicate.
Among the multitude of platforms available, last year, Instagram emerged as one of the most popular social media platforms and the fourth most-visited website globally, attracting a staggering 6.095 billion visitors, according to Similar web.
Instagram’s growth has been particularly notable in India, where its user base has surged to an impressive 362.9 million by early 2024, as reported by Data Reportal.
This growth has transformed Instagram into a lively hub of creativity and engagement, bringing together not only Bollywood stars, celebrated musicians, and renowned athletes but also influential political figures alongside relatable content creators.
The rankings of celebrity followers in India on Instagram are largely dominated by Bollywood stars, leading the charge, with Shraddha Kapoor ranking third among the top ten most-followed Instagram accounts in the country.
Other prominent stars include Priyanka Chopra, Alia Bhatt, Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone, Neha Kakkar, Jacqueline Fernandez, and Urvashi Rautela, who stands out as the youngest celebrity on the list.
@shraddhakapoor
Shraddha Kapoor is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films. One of India’s highest-paid actresses, Kapoor has been featured in Forbes India’s Celebrity 100 list since 2014 and was featured by Forbes Asia in their 30 Under 30 list of 2016.
The daughter of actor Shakti Kapoor, she began her acting career with a brief role in the 2010 heist film Teen Patti, and followed it with her first leading role in the teen drama Luv Ka The End (2011). Kapoor had her breakthrough playing a singer in the commercially successful romantic musical Aashiqui 2 (2013), for which she received a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. The following year, she portrayed a character based on Ophelia in Vishal Bhardwaj’s acclaimed drama Haider (2014).
Kapoor established herself with starring roles in the romantic thriller Ek Villain (2014), the dance drama ABCD 2 (2015) and the action film Baaghi (2016). Following a series of poorly-received films, she had commercial successes in the comedies Chhichhore (2019) and Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar (2023), the action thriller Saaho (2019), as well as the Maddock Horror Comedy Universe films Stree (2018) and Stree 2 (2024), the latter of which ranks as her highest-grossing release.
In addition to acting in films, Kapoor has sung several of her film songs. She is the celebrity endorser for several brands and products, in 2015, she launched her own line of clothing. On Instagram, Kapoor is the most-followed Indian woman.
Kapoor began 2016 by featuring as star Tiger Shroff’s love interest in the action film Baaghi, about a pair of rebellious lovers set against the backdrop of a martial arts school. The role required her to practice Kalaripayattu (a martial art originating in the south of India). Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express considered her character in it to be dated, but thought that she played the romantic and action sequences “well enough”. Commercially, the film performed well and collected a total of ₹1.26 billion (US$15 million).
Kapoor’s final release in 2016 was the rock musical drama Rock On 2, a sequel to 2008’s Rock On!!. She was cast alongside Farhan Akhtar, Arjun Rampal and Prachi Desai. She played the role of Jiah Sharma, an introverted singer and keyboard player, who suffers a neglectful relationship with her father. To prepare, she spent time reading books in isolation and undertook vocal training under the singer Samantha Edwards. Namrata Joshi of The Hindu disliked the film and considered Kapoor’s performance “self-consciously meek and submissive”. Rock On 2 did not recoup its ₹450 million (US$5.3 million) investment, thus emerging as a commercial failure at the box office.
In 2017, Kapoor starred in Shaad Ali’s romantic drama Ok Jaanu, in her second collaboration with Aditya Roy Kapur. A remake of Mani Ratnam’s Tamil romantic drama O Kadhal Kanmani (2015), the film was produced by Karan Johar under the banner of Dharma Productions. It received mixed reviews from critics and Kapoor’s performance was generally noted as inferior to Nithya Menen’s. Kapoor next appeared in the romance Half Girlfriend, in which she was paired opposite Arjun Kapoor. It was based on Chetan Bhagat’s novel of the same name, and reunited her with director Mohit Suri. In a review of the latter film, Raja Sen of NDTV considered it to be a “preposterously dimwitted romance” and criticised Kapoor as “shrill and insubstantial”.
Later in 2017, Kapoor appeared in Apoorva Lakhia’s Haseena Parkar, a biopic of terrorist Dawood Ibrahim’s sister, who ran a crime ring of her own. Kapoor played the titular role, alongside her brother Siddhanth Kapoor, who essayed Ibrahim’s character. The film was panned by critics upon release; Anna M. M. Vetticad of Firstpost considered Kapoor’s performance to be as “bland as the screenplay”, adding “she tries to appear mature and menacing, but the effort shows too much”. None of her 2017 releases performed well at the box office.
Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra Jonas is an Indian actress and producer. The winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant, Chopra is India’s highest paid actress and has received numerous accolades, including two National Film Awards and five Filmfare Awards.
From 2015 to 2018, Chopra starred as Alex Parrish in the ABC thriller series Quantico, becoming the first South Asian to headline an American network drama series. Founding the production company Purple Pebble Pictures in 2015, she produced several films under it, including the Marathi films Ventilator (2016) and Paani (2019), and the self-starring Hindi biopic The Sky Is Pink (2019). Chopra has also appeared in Hollywood films, such as Baywatch (2017), Isn’t It Romantic (2019), The White Tiger (2021), and The Matrix Resurrections (2021), and starred in the action thriller series Citadel (2023–present).
Chopra accepted offers to join the Indian film industry following her pageant wins. Her acting debut came in the Tamil film Thamizhan (2002), followed by her first Bollywood feature in The Hero: Love Story of a Spy (2003). She played the leading lady in the box office hits Andaaz (2003) and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004) and had her breakout role in the 2004 romantic thriller Aitraaz. Chopra established herself with starring roles in the top-grossing productions Krrish and Don (both 2006), and later reprised her role in their sequels. For playing a troubled model in the drama Fashion (2008), Chopra won a National Film Award and a Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Chopra gained further praise for portraying a range of characters in the films Kaminey (2009), 7 Khoon Maaf (2011), Barfi! (2012), Mary Kom (2014), Dil Dhadakne Do (2015), and Bajirao Mastani (2015).
In 2016, the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri, and Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In the next two years, Forbes listed her among the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women, and in 2022, she was named in the BBC 100 Women list.
Chopra ventured into music by releasing three singles and into writing with her memoir Unfinished (2021), which reached The New York Times Best Seller list. Her other ventures include tech investments, a haircare brand, a restaurant, and a homeware line. She promotes social causes such as environment and women’s rights and is vocal about gender equality, the gender pay gap, and feminism.
She has worked with UNICEF since 2006 and was appointed as the national and global UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for child rights in 2010 and 2016, respectively. Her namesake foundation for health and education works towards providing support to underprivileged Indian children. Chopra has walked the Met Gala red carpet in Manhattan five times as of 2025. Despite maintaining privacy, Chopra’s off-screen life, including her marriage to American singer and actor Nick Jonas, is the subject of substantial media coverage.
R Madhavan has nothing but admiration for Priyanka Chopra, who is riding high on the success of her latest Hollywood release, Heads of State. The actor recently called Priyanka’s achievement a proud moment for India, applauding her groundbreaking journey in global cinema. He went as far as to say that many heroes in India want to be in a position that PeeCee currently holds in world cinema.
R Madhavan all praises for SSMB29 co-star
In a chat with Siddharth Kannan, Madhavan gushed over Priyanka’s performance in the high-octane action-comedy. “She has nonchalantly gone there and taken the main lead in such a massive Hollywood project. She’s done action in the film, and I think half of the heroes in India would love to be in her position, playing a role in that kind of movie,” Madhavan shared.
Madhavan further praised her for representing Indian talent so powerfully on a global stage. “I’m a really big fan of how she is and how she’s carried herself. I am very proud of her,” he added.