Shah Rukh Khan, SS Rajamouli on TIME's 100 most influential people list

Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan and film director S.S. Rajamouli are among the world’s 100 most influential people of 2023, Time magazine said on Thursday.

Khan's profile, written by fellow actor Deepika Padukone, said, “For someone who has known him intimately and cares for him deeply, 150 words will never do justice to the phenomenon that is Shah Rukh Khan.” Khan will be "known forever as one of the greatest actors of all time," Padukone said, adding, "But what truly sets him apart is his mind, his chivalry, his generosity. The list goes on...” Khan had won the 2023 TIME100 reader poll, in which readers voted for the individuals they felt most deserved a spot on Time's annual list of the most influential people, earning 4 per cent of the vote of the more than 1.2 million votes cast.

For Rajamouli, actor Alia Bhatt wrote that the RRR director “knows the audience he’s serving. He knows what beats to hit, what turns to take." "I call him the master storyteller because he genuinely loves the flair and abandon of stories. And he brings us together," Bhatt said.

She added that India is a massive country with diverse demographics, tastes, and culture, but Rajamouli gets that and "unites us through his movies.” Bhatt recalled asking the RRR director for acting advice, to which he had replied, "Whatever choice you make, just do that with love. Because even if the film doesn’t work, the audience will see love in your eyes for what you’re doing.”

Others celebrities on the list are Beyonce and Padma Lakshmi.

Also Watch| Sharmila Tagore recalls her bikini scene: 'Questions were asked in Parliament at the time'