Time 100: Padma Lakshmi, Salman Rushdie, Shah Rukh Khan Among Most Influential People in the World
- Those included in the annual list are “wielding their influence to drive positive action toward a better world,” says Time CEO Jessica Sibley.
Padma Lakshmi, Salman Rushdie, Shah Rukh Khan and S.S. Rajamouli are among the game changers in this year’s ‘Time 100,’ an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The issue has four worldwide covers, each highlighting a member of the Time100: actor Jennifer Coolidge, recording artist Doja Cat, CEO of The Walt Disney Company Bob Iger, and actor Michael B. Jordan. To celebrate the list, the magazine will host the annual TIME100 Summit on April 25 and the TIME100 Gala on April 26.
“We are thrilled to recognize this year’s list of the world’s most influential people,” said Time Chief Executive Officer Jessica Sibley in a press release. “We look forward to convening the TIME100 community — one of the largest leadership communities in the world — to spotlight and hear from individuals who are wielding their influence to drive positive action toward a better world at the TIME100 Summit Featuring TIME CO2 and Gala this month in New York City.”
Comedian and actress Ali Wong vividly remembers the first time she met Padma Lakshmi after one of her shows in Los Angeles when she went straight to the craft table covered in charcuterie. Won says that it’s Lakshmi’s “genuine love of food—and how freaking smart she is—that makes her electric to watch as the host of ‘Top Chef,’ currently in its 20th season, and ‘Taste the Nation With Padma Lakshmi,’ which returns for a second season in May. It also helps that she’s drop-dead gorgeous.” She describes the Indian American chef, author, model and host as “an incredible writer, and that really shines through when she speaks. She’s articulate and has a strong point of view.” When Wong was a gust on “Top Chef,” she was “shocked by how honest and unafraid” Lakshmi was “of being disliked. She’s brave in that way. I’m always in awe of Padma because, yes, she really is that beautiful, talented, and charismatic. She’s iconic.”
“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.”
Also featured on the list is Lakshmi’s ex-husband, Salman Rushdie who according to singer and activist Bono “has refused to be terrorized,” which “outside of his writing, is the lesson of his life.” He mentions the Aug. 12, 2022 attack on Rushdie when he was stabbed onstage as he was about to deliver a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York. It was a summer lecture series at the gated community that features arts and literary programming for nine weeks each summer. “For me, rock ’n’ roll has always been about liberation,” Bono writes. “Salman’s continued creativity has become a different expression of that same liberation, a 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. Freedom often loses but is never defeated.”
In her essay on Shah Rukh Khan, actress Deepika Padukone, who made her debut opposite him in “Om Shanti Om” in 2007, writes about the 16 years she’s known the supertstar. “What makes our relationship special is the love, trust, and respect we have for one another.” Calling him “one of the greatest actors of all time,” Padukone notes that “what truly sets him apart is his mind, his chivalry, his generosity. The list goes on …” She adds: “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.”
S.S. Rajamouli’s essay is peened by actress Alia Bhatt who was cast in “RRR.” She recalled meeting the director at the preview of “Baahubali 2.” At the time she thought of what a dream it would be to work with this director. “Lo and behold, the dream came true.” For Bhatt, “being directed by him in ‘RRR’ was like going to school all over again. He 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. India is a massive country with diverse demographics, tastes, and cultures. But he gets that—and he unites us through his movies.”