Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan topped the 2023 TIME100 poll, in which readers voted for the individuals they felt deserved a spot on Time's annual list of the most influential people. He scored more votes than Lionel Messi and others.
The list also featured noteworthy figures like actor Michelle Yeoh, athlete Serena Williams, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, amongst others. As per the report by the magazine, SRK won 4% of the vote after more than 1.2 million votes were cast.
Khan, arguably India’s most famous actor and an international icon in his own right, is also a producer and co-owner of the Knight Riders Group women’s cricket team. The actor made his mark as Bollywood’s favorite romantic hero, starring in blockbusters like Dilwale Dulhania le Jayenge and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. His decades-long career has seen him star in more than 100 films and his most recent film is Pathaan. Released in January, it’s one of the top grossing films of the year so far, collecting nearly $130 million worldwide.
Second place went to the Iranian women protesting for greater freedoms from the country’s Islamic regime, garnering 3% of the vote. Protesters took to the streets of cities around Iran after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was killed at the hands of the country’s “morality police” last September for allegedly wearing her headscarf too loosely. They were named TIME’s 2022 Heroes of the Year and also won last year’s Person of the Year reader poll.
Third and fourth place went to Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, each of whom earned about 1.9% of the vote. The Duke of Sussex made headlines in January after the release of his memoir Spare, which recounts monumental moments ranging from Princess Diana’s death in 1997 to Queen Elizabeth’s death in September. He is also known for founding the Invictus Games, an international sporting competition for wounded, injured and sick service people.
Shah Rukh who was last seen in the mega-successful film Pathaan is gearing up for the release of his next film Jawan that is all set to release on June 2023. He will also be seen in Dunki co-starring Taapsee Pannu. Moreover, it was also announced that he will be seen in YRF’s Tiger vs Pathaan, which will be directed by Siddharth Anand.
Source: TIME
