Meet Indian-Origin Individuals Featured On TIME's 100 Most Influential List

TIME has released its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world and several prominent Indians and Indian origin personalities secured a place in magazine's list for the year 2024. The list includes artists, icons, movie stars, athletes, scientists, politicians and business leaders who have made an impact through their work. Divided into several categories like “artists”, “icons” and “titans,” the twenty-first annual list recognises the world’s most influential people across countries.

Here' a look at the Indians and people of Indian origin who made it to Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people of 2024

Alia Bhat To Dev Patel: Indians On TIME's 100 Most Influential People

Alia Bhatt:

Described as a "formidable talent", Alia Bhatt is the only Indian actor included in the list for her contributions to Indian cinema. The star received high praises by director Tom Harper with whom she made her Hollywood debut Heart of Stone. Harper admired Bhatt as one of the "world's leading actors" and highlighted how not only has her work been admired in Indian cinema for over a decade, but she is also a philanthropist and a businesswoman.

Recounting an improvised scene from Heart of Stone with Bhatt who was pregnant at the time of shooting the film, Harper said "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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Dev Patel:

Indian-origin British actor and filmmaker Dev Patel, who recently made his directorial debut with Monkey Man has been included in the list of 100 most influential people in the world for his fearless approach to storytelling and his contribution to bringing life and humanity to his characters. Get Out and Nope actor Daniel Kaluuya said it is inevitable to not root for Patel's character even if the character is doing "something foul", adding Patel's strong presence in every character makes the audience understand where he is coming from. 

Patel has recently garnered high praise for his latest strong action thriller Monkey Man also marked his directorial debut. Patel recently executive produced the Oscar-nominated Indian documentary To Kill A Tiger on the Jharkhand gangrape case along with Priyanka Chopra, Mindy Kaling, Nisha Pahuja, and many others. A British actor of Indian descent, Patel proplled to international fame for his role in Slumdog Millionaire.

Sakshi Malik

India’s first and only female wrestler to win an Olympic medal, Sakshi Malik is recognised for her protest Brij Bhushan Singh, the Wrestling Federation of India chief who was accused of sexually harassing athletes. “This fight is no longer only for India’s female wrestlers,” said Malik, “it is for the daughters of India whose voices have been silenced time and again.”

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Many other names such as World Bank President Ajay Banga, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadela; Priiyamvada Natrajanan, an Indian-origin professor at Yale for her groundbreaking discovery in Black Holes; Indian-born British chef Asma Khan for redefining Indian cuisine globally; and Jigar Shah, Director of the US Department of energy are included in the list.