According to Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2023, Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan, film director S.S. Rajamouli, writer Salman Rushdie, and television host and judge Padma Lakshmi are among them.
The list also includes King Charles, US Vice President Joe Biden, the millionaire CEO Elon Musk, the legendary singer and artist Beyonce, and the swimmers and activists Sara Mardini and Yusra Mardini, both of Syrian descent.
For someone who has known him well and cares about him passionately, 150 words would never do justice to the phenomenon that is Shah Rukh Khan, according to the actor Deepika Padukone, who wrote the profile for Khan. Khan shall “But what truly sets him apart is his mind, his chivalry, and his generosity, Padukone added, adding that he will always be remembered as one of the greatest actors of all time. The list is endless.”
Khan received 4% of the more than 1.2 million votes cast in the 2023 TIME100 reader poll, which asked readers to choose the persons they thought should be on Time’s annual list of the most influential people.
Actress Alia Bhatt tweeted about Rajamouli saying the RRR director “knows who he is trying to reach. He is aware of the rhythms to hit and the turns to make.” “Since he actually enjoys the flair and abandon of stories, I refer to him as the great storyteller. He draws us together as well” said Bhatt.
Rajamouli “unites us through his movies,” she continued, despite the fact that India is a vast country with various demographics, preferences, and cultural traditions. Bhatt recounted requesting acting guidance from the RRR director, who had said, “Just make your decision with love, no matter what it is. Because the audience will be able to tell that you enjoy what you’re doing even if the movie doesn’t succeed.” Writing Rushdie’s biography, U2’s Bono quoted the author as saying: “Terrorism wants to possess you, take over your day, and frighten you at night. Salman Rushdie refused to submit to intimidation.” Beyond his work, Rushdie’s life’s lesson is this, Bono continued.
The “great novelist frame-by-frame” specificity in describing the assault on Bono at the Chautauqua Institution in New York last year did not surprise Bono, he claimed.
While recounting the situation he had been preparing for since 1989, Rushdie “didn’t miss a detail,” according to Bono, who also noted that what shocked him was that Rushdie made him laugh.
“Really?” Bono said Rushie had remembered thinking. “thirty years later? Among these Chautauqua, New York’s friendliest, most casually attired readers?” The lead vocalist of U2 said, “For me, rock ‘n’ roll has always been about liberation.”
Rushdie’s “continued creativity has become a different expression of that same liberation, defiance and a determination not to be silenced. Of course, there was anguish as he told me the story of the attack, but what was clear was that he would not bow,” Bono said.
“Freedom often loses but is never defeated,” he added.
Comedian, actor, and Emmy-nominated writer Ali Wong, in her profile for Lakshmi, said that the television host’s genuine love of food and her smartness makes it electric to watch her as the host of ‘Top Chef’ and ‘Taste the Nation With Padma Lakshmi’.
Describing Lakshmi as an “incredible writer”, Wong said this personality trait shines through when she speaks. “She’s articulate and has a strong point of view. When I was a guest judge on Top Chef, I was shocked by how honest and unafraid she was of being disliked, she’s brave in that way,” Wong said.
“I’m always in awe of Padma because, yes, she really is that beautiful, talented, and charismatic. She’s iconic,” she added.
