Top 10 Celebrity Temples in India

India, one of the world's oldest civilizations, is a land of rich history, and countless religious beliefs, traditions, and legends. India is proud of its rich cultural and religious history, as it is the birthplace of Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. India is where people of various religious beliefs coexist in peace and harmony. Hinduism is thought to be the world's first religion. Hinduism, unlike other religions, has no founder and is instead a religious fusion.

Here is the list of top celebrity temples in India.

1. Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar is revered as the God of Cricket. He is one of the most well-known cricketers in India and around the world. He was given this title for his outstanding batting abilities, but his fans took it literally and built a temple for him. The temple, which is located in Sachin Tendulkar village in Bihar (yes, he has a village named after him), has a life-size statue that is placed in a cricket academy that provides free coaching. The temple was built to inspire young cricketers to follow their hearts.

2. Narendra Modi

Who can resist the allure of India's angry young man? For decades, Amitabh Bachchan has ruled the hearts of millions. People admire him not only as an actor, but also for his personality, conviction, and writing. He is so beloved that a temple in his honour has been built in Kolkata.

3. Kushboo Sundar

The story of Kushboo Sundar, the heroine of the Kannada film Aunty Preethse, reflects the rise and fall of a public figure. During the peak of her career in the 1990s, her fans built a temple for her in Thiruchirapalli in 2001, bestowing the title of'mother goddess' on Sundar. When she was the leading actress of Tamil cinema, she became the first Indian actress for whom her fans built a temple. However, her remarks on AIDS awareness sparked a controversy in 2005.

4. Amitabh Bachchan

It comes as no surprise that Amitabh Bachchan has a temple dedicated to him. The Angry Young Man is worshipped as a god incarnate in this 2001 temple, with full Hindu rites and rituals. The front room of this two-room temple complex is a physical montage of photographs from Bachchan's various films. A 'Jai Shree Amitabh' has been plastered on the sanctum sanctorum. In the centre is an ornate dark-green chair obtained from the Aks sets (2001). On the chair is a glass case containing a pair of white leather shoes worn by Amitabh in the film Agneepath (1990).

5. Karunanidhi Temple

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam councillor G R Krishnamoorthy was inspired to build the temple after witnessing how M. Karunanidhi's welfare schemes, particularly Kalaingar Kappitu Thitam (free insurance scheme for the poor), had helped many downtrodden families in his area. The primary goal of this temple in the Vellore district is to promote temple tourism and to promote Tamil Nadu as a temple tourist destination.

6. Kotilingeshwara Temple

Rajinikanth, a multilingual actor, is a superstar phenomenon in the south. His extraordinary rise from Bangalore bus conductor to the most successful actor, as well as his on-screen inimitable style, have made him a cult figure. The superstar's larger-than-life image, fight for social causes, and simplicity have earned him ardent fans all over the world. Thaliavva's fans must have established a Sahasra Lingam for his health and prosperity at Kotilingeshwara Temple in Kolar, Karnataka, out of pure love.

7. Namitha Temple

Namitha Kapoor, born on May 10, 1981 in Gujarat, has appeared in 35 films in three south Indian languages: Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. Despite receiving several advertisement offers, Namitha was unable to break into the Bollywood film industry. In 2002, she made her Tollywood debut in Sreenu Vaitla's Sontham. The following year, she starred in the big-budget actioner Gemini. Her portrayal of Manisha Natwarlal, a Marwari girl, received critical acclaim. In 2008, at the height of her fame, one of Namitha's devotees built her a temple near Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. She became the state's second actress, after Khushboo, to be immortalised in this way by her fan base.

8. Sonia Gandhi

As a token of gratitude, a temple was built in Mallial town in Karimnagar district in 2014 to honour Sonia Gandhi as the creator of the then-twentieth state. While protesting leaders in Andhra built a tomb for Sonia Gandhi for declaring Telangana a separate state, her supporters responded by erecting a temple in her honour. Mrs. Gandhi's 9-foot white marble sculpture depicts her as an Indian goddess, holding a lotus (Congress Party symbol) in one hand and a plate full of wealth in the other. They even hung portraits of the entire Gandhi family, including former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Rajeev Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi, on the temple's outer walls.

9. Mahatma Gandhi

A temple dedicated to the Father of the Nation can be found in the small village of Bhatra, near Sambalpur, Odisha. The temple, which was built in the 1970s with the intention of promoting communal harmony, attracts visitors of all religions and castes. The sanctum sanctorum of the temple houses a bronze statue of Bapu. Ex-MLA Abhimayu Kumar proposed building it because he wanted to provide a temple for Dalits, who were not allowed to enter other temples due to their 'untouchable' status.

10. Ramchandran Temple

Perhaps no other Indian state reveres film actors as much as Tamil Nadu. The temple was built in 2011 in Thirunindravoor, Chennai, for M G Ramachandran, a popular actor and former Chief Minister of the state. Kalaivanan, a devotee of the leader-actor, built the temple with his own money and donations from other devotees. MGR is represented by three statues in the temple. One serves as the presiding deity (Moolavar), while the other serves as Utsavar. Aside from that, it has a six-foot-tall MGR statue outside its premises, which party workers decorated to commemorate the 102nd anniversary of party founder and CM Ramachandran on January 17, 2019.