Akshay Kumar tops 'celebrity heartfulness index'

The Indian Institute of Human Brands (IIHB) has released a report on the ‘heartfulness’ of famous faces during the coronavirus crisis in the country.

 

The study takes into account PR announcements made by them in recent days. The IIHB panel formulated a Celebrity Heartfulness Index (CHI) which takes into account the amount donated to charity, the stature of the celebrity and commensurate size of the donation, transparency around the giving, and whether cash has been given or promises have been made about giving in kind. 

 

Akshay Kumar tops the list after a contribution of Rs. 25 crores to the PM-CARES Fund. The panel at IIHB also gave Akshay Kumar’s wife, Twinkle Khanna, a CHI of 10. 

 

Bhushan Kumar, chairman and MD, T-Series, who contributed Rs. 11 crores to the PM CARES Fund, and Rs. 1 crore to the Maharashtra CM’s Fund gets a CHI of 9.0. 

 

The top 10 also consists of Kartik Aaryan, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Prabhas, Vicky Kaushal and Sourav Ganguly among others (full list below).

 

MS Dhoni who donated Rs. 1 lakh and PV Sindhu who wrote a Rs. 10 lakh cheque scored zeroes, or near zeroes, for donations that seem pitiful in comparison to their stature and personal fortunes.

 

 

Sandeep Goyal, chief mentor, IIHB, said, “There has been a veritable PR blizzard with celebs out-doing each other in saying they are supportive of relief efforts. So we decided to dispassionately examine the reality and the quality of the giving."

 

He added, “Our biggest point of debate, discussion and disagreement has been about well orchestrated PR announcements by various stars which were many times non-specific on actual financial details. There was much fanfare about saying ‘I am donating’ (hence I need to be counted) but the amount was invariably shrouded in mystery. The panel was divided on whether celebrities are entitled to privacy on this issue. But the majority view was that if celebs can go to town on even the tiniest of personal issues like haircuts and food on their table, then why do they need to be secretive about how much they have given to charity, especially if the donations are going to a public fund. The world over, including Hollywood, meaningful contributions have all been quantified. PR announcements about charity without disclosing actual amounts given out are liking firing blanks … lot of noise, no real substance. But then the choice is of the individual celebrity."