Shah Rukh Khan, S.S. Rajamouli, Salman Rushdie among world's 100 most influential people

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, film director S.S. Rajamouli, author Salman Rushdie and television host and judge Padma Lakshmi are among the world's 100 most influential people of 2023, Time magazine said on Thursday.

The list also includes US President Joe Biden, King Charles, Syrian-born swimmers and activists Sara Mardini and Yusra Mardini, star icon Bella Hadid, billionaire CEO Elon Musk and iconic singer and artist Beyonce.

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 is serving. He knows what beats to hit, what turns to take.

Bono said he was not surprised that the great novelist described last year's attack on him at the Chautauqua Institution in New York with frame-by-frame specificity.

Rushdie didn't miss a detail as he recounted the crisis he had prepared for since 1989, Bono said, adding that what surprised him was that Rushdie made him laugh.

The U2 lead singer added that rock 'n' roll has always been about liberation to him.

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'.

It also helps that she's drop-dead gorgeous, Wong said.

Describing Lakshmi as an incredible writer, Wong said this personality trait shines through when she speaks.