The Indian film stars Shah Rukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra have been declared king and queen of social media by BollywoodLife.com, a digital portal for Hindi cinema news, at the Social Media Film Awards 2015 ceremony in New Delhi on Tuesday, June 2. The event "recognises celebrities who not only have a strong presence on social media, but also boast a huge fan base".
The website conducted an online poll in May to pick winners in 16 categories. More than 13 million people in India and abroad voted.
Khan, who dedicated the award to all his fans, said: “There are so many people around the world who have given me love and support for many years. Earlier, letters and cards used to be the only way of communicating and thanking them. Now, social media has made life easier. I can be closer to all my fans - thank them, hear them out and chat with them.
“This award goes to all the people around the world who love me and support me unconditionally.”
Chopra said she was touched by the award.
“I always wanted to be a queen,” she said. “When I won Miss World, I pretended I was a queen. So winning this award really made me feel like one. Thank you everyone who voted.”
Other categories included Selfie King, Selfie Queen, Best Social Media Movement of the Year, Most Witty Celeb, Craziest Fan Following, Instragrammer of the Year, Fitness Icon Male and Most Motivational Celeb.
Sonakshi Sinha won Selfie Queen while Varun Dhawan was named Selfie King. Fitness Icon Male award went to Tiger Shroff and Fitness Icon Female to Jacqueline Fernandez.
Tushar Joshi, editor BollywoodLife.com, says the awards bring celebrities closer to their fans.
“We ve so many awards declared by critics, juries and publications, but this one is unique, it is for the FAN who selects their favourite star and there lies its merit. The awards brings the celebrities closer to their fans than ever before.”
artslife@thenational.ae