Bollywood actor Alia Bhatt, Olympian wrestler Sakshi Malik, World Bank President Ajay Banga, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and actor-director Dev Patel are among the Indians who have made it to the prestigious Time’s list of 100 most influential people in the world released on Wednesday.
Time’s ‘100 Most Influential People of 2024’ also includes US Department of Energy’s Loan Programmes Office director Jigar Shah, Professor of Astronomy and Professor of Physics at Yale University Priyamvada Natarajan; Indian-origin restaurateur Asma Khan; as well as Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya.
Here’s a description of the celebrities who made it to the Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2024
Alia Bhatt
Alia Bhatt is an actor who has proved herself by playing versatile roles and getting global appreciation for her role in Gangubai Kathiawadi movie. The global superstar has been delivering one successful film after another. She also made her Hollywood debut in 2023with Heart of Stone and her director Tom Harper, who wrote for her in the magazine, described her as “formidable talent” who is “truly international star“.
He further says that despite her fame , on set she is self-effacing and funny. There is a grace to the way she goes about her work: focused, open to ideas, and willing to take creative risks. One of my favorite moments in the film came from an improvisation at the end of a take where she took the emotional thread and ran with it.”
Tom also wrote about Alia’s “superpower” as an actor and wrote, “Alia’s superpower is her ability to mix movie-star magnetism with authenticity and sensitivity. As an actor she is luminous, and as a person she brings the grounded assurance and creativity that make a truly international star.”
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Alia shared the announcement on her Instagram profile and wrote, “Honoured to be a part of the #TIME100 @time 🫶 Thank you dearest #TomHarper for your kind kind words 💫♥️✨☀️”
Ajay Banga
Former CEO of MasterCard Ajay Banga has risen to the ranks to serve one of the leading Multilateral development Institutions today, the World Bank. His Time’s profile written by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, said, “It’s not easy to find a leader with the skill and drive to take on the monumental task of transforming an essential institution, but since becoming World Bank president last June, Ajay Banga has done just that.”
Dev Patel
A British actor of Indian origin who is well known for his performances in movies like Slumdog Millionaire and Life of Pi, made it to the Time’s List this year. His Time profile by Oscar-winning actor Daniel Kaluuya read that he “radiates goodness. His humanity shines through every time he graces the screen, leaving you no choice but to root for him even when his character is doing something foul; his presence makes you understand where he’s coming from”.
Sakshi Malik
She is the first Indian female wrestler to win an Olympics medal. Sakshi was the face of Wrestler’s protest against alleged Sexual Harassment by WFI Chief. On Malik, Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Nisha Pahuja writes that she was among India’s “most celebrated wrestlers” who had gathered at Jantar Mantar in Delhi in early 2023 to demand the immediate arrest and resignation of chief of the Wrestling Federation of India Brij Bhushan Singh, accused of sexually harassing female athletes.
Satya Nadella
Satya Nadella is the CEO of software and computing giant Microsoft. On Nadella, Time said he is “profoundly influential in shaping our future. And that’s a good thing for humanity. Microsoft’s significant investment in OpenAI and partnership with Mistral AI puts him at the forefront of the artificial intelligence revolution. A technologist with heart, Satya sees AI as a tool that will empower humans.”
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