A fresh year, a fresh roster, and a few well-known figures demonstrating their artistic power. The IE 100-the Most Powerful Indians 2024 list includes a number of prominent figures from the Indian entertainment industry, including megastar Amitabh Bachchan, superstar Shah Rukh Khan, actor Alia Bhatt, and filmmaker Karan Johar. The artists have gained entry to the list—some leaping up the ranks, others coming back after a year away—through their amazing work, breaking box office records, traveling the world, creating content for various platforms, and becoming social media sensations.
Five years after his retirement, Shah Rukh Khan returned to the screen with three films that grossed over Rs 2,600 crore worldwide. Numbers were everything to the superstar, who has over 44 million X followers. Despite negative social media sentiment and the pandemic, Khan’s return with Pathaan restored the glory of Hindi cinema. Jawan, his subsequent film, continues to be the highest grossing Hindi film ever made, setting a new standard.
Even though Dunki, his third release, didn’t exactly blow everyone away, all three of his movies cemented his status as a cinematic icon who can draw audiences with little to no advertising and almost no involvement from the media. Only available on the big screen, Khan 2.0 traveled the world, smoked cigars, crossed borders, and left viewers wanting more. Khan’s next projects include The King, an action movie he co-wrote with his daughter Suhana, and Pathaan 2, in which he reprises his role as the film’s titular spy for yet another thrilling adventure.
It wasn’t limited to the cinema; one of the most popular Indian actors on Instagram, Alia, also became a global ambassador for Gucci, bringing her magic to music festivals and fashion shows in Seoul and Milan. Her new mom brand Ed-a-Mamma was acquired by Reliance Retail, which now owns a 51 per cent majority stake in the company.
