Sunny Leone tops Yahoo’s ‘most searched Indian celebrity’ list

New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) Indo-Canadian adult movie star Sunny Leone was the Most Searched Indian Celebrity on the Net in 2012, while Olympics bronze winning boxer M.C. Mary Kom was chosen Yahoo! India’s Person of the Year in the website’s Year in Review released Thursday.

The review “reflects topics that dominated the daily online habits of Indian net users across 15 categories. This combines search trends with the editorial selection of what users read, recommended and shared most on the Yahoo! network in India during 2012,” a Yahoo statement said.

It “offers a glimpse into the social trends, compelling newsmakers and top stories of 2012, based on what Internet users in India looked for. It is clear while looking at the top trends that scams and controversies, with a large dose of Bollywood gossip, captured the attention of the user in 2012,” the statement said.

Leone grabbed the spot ahead of Bollywood’s leading ladies, thanks to her controversial entry into Bollywood with “Big Boss 5” and “Jism 2”.

Mary Kom’s selection followed India’s biggest Olympics medals haul at the London Games, equaling the collective tally of the country’s previous seven campaigns.

Arvind Kejriwal, the new poster boy for the crusade against corruption, knocked off mentor Anna Hazare from the position to become Top Newsmaker in India for 2012.

After being chosen as the best non-model on the ramp by Yahoo! users last year, Mr. Dependable Virat Kohli became 2012’s Performer of the Year, coming in straight at the top of the list of Cricketers of the Year.

Interestingly, Aishwarya Rai’s post pregnancy weight gain fueled a hefty share of Internet gossip, making her the Celebrity in the News for 2012, ahead of the Khans, Kapoors and Katrina Kaif.

Move over Brangelina. The most sought after Celebrity Couple in India was Saifeena. Where will they marry? Who’s on the guest list? What will they wear? Obsessed Internet users couldn’t get enough of this couple.

Who made a Style Statement in 2012? Amitabh Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor expectedly topped the list of Best Dressed Celebrities. But unusual suspect Ekta Kapoor rose straight to the top of this yea’’s Worst Dressed list, with Mallika Sherawat tailing her at a close second.

The year saw many fashion trends vie for attention, many of which were inspired by the early 1980s and 1990s. Many A-listers seemed to take their fashion cues from the past, sporting colored denims, Anarkalis teamed with tight chudhidars and stilettos.

The dark cloud surrounding India’s airline carriers made the turbulence of the sky one of the Top News Stories of the Year. Coalgate, the Apple-Samsung war, the fall of the Indian rupee and the much-awaited Facebook IPO also made it to the list.

The iPhone 5 dominated the list of Top Tech Stories for 2012. Pinterest, crowdfunding and the sale of Instagram were among the other topics tech aficionados could not get enough of.

Other themes which dominated the daily habits of online users in India included news on style trends, health and fitness and top travel destinations.