10 Most Influential Young Indians : Artistes

CEO and Creative Director, TVF
Ages: 33 and 27
Born in: Muzaffarpur, Bihar & Rourkela, Odisha

The last time we spoke to Arunabh Kumar, he was talking about building the HBO of India. A year later, it looks doable: Kumar and Sarkar got a $10 million booster shot from Tiger Global for digital entertainment channel The Viral Fever, 1.5 million plus followers on its YouTube platform and tiny blue tick marks next to their own names on social media to boot.

**Singer

Age: 32

Born in: Kollam, Kerala**

Benny Dayal has been the reigning king of the Bollywood dance number since AR Rahman “discovered” him in 2007. But he knows that staying relevant isn’t just a matter of hitting high notes; it’s to have “performance running in your blood”.

**DJ/VJ; Mixed media artists

Ages: 31 and 37

Born in: Delhi and Pune**

There’s nothing basic about BLOT! any more. Sure, the Delhi-based DJ/VJ duo, who took the electronica scene by storm about a decade ago, “continue to hate elevated booths,” dominating the underground scene with about 100 acts every year; from Magnetic Fields to playing at abandoned breweries. But their goal – “to expand the notion of electronic music culture” – has taken them further afield than their peers.

**Actor

Age: 29

Born in: Kochi**

Beyond the realm of Bollywood and Tollywood lies Mollywood, the Malayalam film industry that’s often labelled the thinking man’s cinema for its well-rounded scripts and powerful performances. Dulquer Salmaan is its hottest ticket.

**Street artist & co-founder of St+Art Foundation and Festival

Age: 33

Born in: Talaja, Gujarat**

The real star at the India Art Fair this year was no Paresh Maity sculpture or Jitish Kallat installation. It was WIP, a St+Art Foundation festival held at the Inland Container Depot, right behind a massive land-fill, where 25 Indian and international artists transformed over 100 Maersk shipping containers into stunning, larger-than-life canvases.

**Actor

Age: 30

Born in: Mumbai**

Last year, Ranveer was famous. This year, he is ubiquitous. You can’t flip a TV channel, pass a billboard or open up a tabloid without seeing him. Compared to the Juhu boys with famous last names, Ranveer is the one who has his safety net closest to the ground, but he still takes the biggest risks.

**Film-maker

Age: 36

Born in: Mumbai**

Ritesh Batra is really glad that his school teachers got him into the habit of reading. Being a bibliophile – and, of course, the BAFTA-nominated director of The Lunchbox – got him his next project: adapting British author Julian Barnes’ Booker Prize-winning novel The Sense Of An Ending for the BBC. Not only has he directed a stellar cast, including Jim Broadbent, the film will receive a global release later this year.

**Footballer

Age: 31

Born in: Secunderabad**

Experts will tell you that a footballer reaches his twilight years when he’s 30. Chhetri has simply increased his stock in Indian football as the years pile on. The country’s all time leading goalscorer notched up 50 international goals last year and continues to carry the burden for the Blue Tigers – scoring every goal for the Indian football team in the 2018 World Cup qualifying matches.

Cricketer

Age: 27

Born in: Delhi

From the moment he climbed to the number one spot among ODI batsmen in 2013 – only five years after making his international debut – he’s been smashing records with the same infallible consistency that makes his opponents hate and admire him in equal measure.

**Musician

Age: 29

Born in: Delhi**

Sahej Bakshi feels it’s time to reinvent his sound. It has, after all, been over three years since his groundbreaking debut LP Doppelganger triggered a veritable avalanche of independent electronica from India. Over this time, Bakshi has taken his guitar-monome-headbang routine everywhere, from college fests in tier-2 cities (he’s had “epic” gigs at Chandigarh and Chennai) to the biggest international festivals (last seen spinning at Ultra Korea); vibed with the next big stars of the scene (including Imaad Shah aka Madboy and Kavya Trehan of MOSKO); and is even mentoring aspiring musicians through workshops via his label Dualism Records. Basically, his brand of “weird indie” music is almost mainstream now.