Pride of India
India@60
Shah Rukh Khan got the highest number of votes at 49% in a poll conducted by dnaindia.com to find out which celebrity has made India proud over the last 10 years.
In order of their ranking, following are proud Indians who were included in the campaign. They did India proud in their own right over the last decade.
SHAHRUKH KHAN
The reel Badshah
Shahrukh means 'The King' and he is the most popular actor in the field today.
Shahrukh started his career on a TV serial called Fauji which gave him instant recognition.
Shahrukh's first movie was 'Deewana' and the actor managed to make a great impact. Abbas- Mastan's Baazigar and Yash Chopra's Darr made Shahrukh a star overnight. Shahrukh Khan's biggest blockbuster till date is Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge; the movie ran for over 520 weeks in theatres all across India.
Shah Rukh Khan has won several awards for his outstanding performance in Darr (1994), Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Baadshah (1999) etc.
Shah Rukh Khan married Gauri Khan in 1991. They have two children, son Aryan and daughter Suhana. Shahrukh and wife Gauri have a banner 'Red Chilies Entertainment' and the first movie produced by the company was the superhit Main Hoon Na.
Shahrukh Khan has a masters degree in Mass Communication. Shahrukh Khan is rated as the most popular actor in Bollywood and the sexiest man in Asia.
APJ ABDUL KALAM
People's President
Former President of India Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, specialized in Aeronautical Engineering from Madras Institute of Technology. Born into a middle class family in Rameswaram Dr. Kalam always dreamt big as a student.
He made significant contribution as Project Director to develop India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully injected the Rohini satellite in the near earth orbit in July 1980 and made India an exclusive member of Space Club.
He was responsible for the development and operationalisation of AGNI and PRITHVI Missiles and for building indigenous capability in critical technologies through networking of multiple institutions.
Dr. Kalam was elected as the President in the year 2002.
In his literary pursuit four of Dr. Kalam's books - 'Wings of Fire', 'India 2020 - A Vision for the New Millennium', 'My journey' and 'Ignited Minds - Unleashing the power within India' have become household names in India and among the Indian nationals abroad. These books have been translated in many Indian languages.
Dr. Kalam is one of the most distinguished scientists of India with the unique honour of receiving honorary doctorates from 30 universities and institutions.
He was awarded the coveted civilian awards - Padma Bhushan (1981) and Padma Vibhushan (1990) and the highest civilian award Bharat Ratna (1997).
His vision is to transform India into a developed nation by 2020. He would be fondly remebered as 'People's president'.
NARAYANA MURTHY
Infy man
Narayana Murthy is undoubtedly one of the most famous business icons in the country who shaped the IT boom in India.
Born in Mysore, he graduated with a degree in electrical engineering from the National Institute of Engineering, University of Mysore in 1967 and received his master's degree from IIT Kanpur in 1969.
He was one of the six founders who started Infosys with a small investment of Rs. 10,000 and nurtured the organization to a world-class company currently valued at Rs. 50,000 crores.
He served as CEO for 20 years in Infosys before handing over the reins of the company to co-founder Nandan M Nilekani in March 2002. Under his leadership Infosys was listed on NASDAQ in 1999. He served as the Executive Chairman of the Board and Chief Mentor from 2002 to 2006.
Mr. Murthy is the chairman of the governing body of the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore. He is a member of the Board of Overseers of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and number of shools not only in India but also abroad.
He has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors. In 2000, he was awarded the Padma Shri. TIME magazine's 'Global Tech Influentials' list (2004) named Mr Murthy as one of the ten leaders who are helping shape the future of technology.
He is known to lead an unpretentious lifestyle in his modest residence in Bangalore along with wife Sudha Murthy and has a reputation for being a calm, soft-spoken person.
SACHIN TENDULKAR
Little master
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar fondly called as 'little master' is one of the best batsman the world has ever produced.
Tendulkar's combination of deft touches and raw power is virtually unmatched in the game today. Even at 35 his hunger for more runs hasn't stopped. His wicket is the most priced by any bowler.
Prodigies are anointed every day yet have fallen and men have worn true greatness briefly but found it hard to measure up through time.
Form rudely flees abruptly into the night, the mind wearies, the body ails, fame distracts, riches bring lethargy. Like Sunil Gavaskar before him, Tendulkar has fought it all with distinction.
He made his international debut in 1989 agianst Pakistan and is an all-time crowd-favorite. As a young lad of 16 years his knock against the England stunned many. His determination and grit to perform has made him the world's leading run scorer.
One of the most sought brand icon, Sachin endorses more than 14 products.
RATAN TATA
Bizz giant
Heading the Tata Group since 1991, Ratan Tata is the Chairman of Tata Sons, holding company of the Tata Group, and major Group companies. He is also Chairman of two of the largest private sector promoted philanthropic trusts in India. During his tenure, the Group has further expanded its global reach, with its revenues growing over sixfold to Rs 97,000 crore.
Ratan Tata joined the Tata Group in December 1962. After serving in various companies, he was appointed the Director-in-Charge of The National Radio & Electronics Company Limited (Nelco) in 1971.
In 1981, he was named Chairman of Tata Industries, the Group's other holding company, where he was responsible for transforming it into the Group's strategy think-tank and a promoter of new ventures in high-technology businesses.
Tata received a Bachelor of Science degree in architecture from Cornell University in 1962. He worked briefly with Jones and Emmons in Los Angeles, California, before returning to India in late 1962. He completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in 1975.
In 1991, Ratan Tata took over the Chairmanship from JRD Tata. Under him Tata Consultancy Services went public and Tata Motors was listed in the New York Stock Exchange.
In 1998, Tata Motors came up with Tata Indica. The car was the brainchild of Ratan Tata.
The government of India honoured Ratan Tata with one of its highest civilian awards, the Padma Bhushan, on Republic Day, January 26, 2000.
He has also been conferred an honorary doctorate in business administration by the Ohio State University, an honorary doctorate in technology by the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, and an honorary doctorate in science by the University of Warwick.
LAKSHMI NIWAS MITTAL
Man of steel
LN Mittal heads the multi national steel company Mittal Steel that his father Mohan began. Mittal has grown the family business into one of the largest steel companies in the world, with steel making facilities in fourteen countries and employing more than 150,000 people.
In March 2006, Lakshmi Mittal was listed as the third wealthiest person in the world after Bill Gates and Warren Buffet by Forbes Magazine.
After the recent merger between Mittal Steel and Arcelor which raged a big debate throughout the Europe, Laxmi Mittal currently controls 10% of the total steel production.
Lakshmi Mittal was born on June 15th, 1950, in Sadulpur, a village which didn't have electricity until 1960's, in Rajasthan.
In 1996, he was awarded the title 'Steel maker of the Year' by New Steel Magazine in the USA, and he received the Eighth Honorary Willy Korf Steel Vision Award, the highest recognition for world wide achievement in the steel industry in June 1998.
His daughter Vanisha's wedding to Delhi-born investment banker Amit Bhatia in 2004 June is reputed to have cost more than $55-million and is said to be the world's most expensive wedding ever.
Although he has been living abroad for many years, he claims he will remain an Indian.
SANIA MIRZA
Queen of the court
Sania Mirza is the current youth icon in India. Coming from Hyderabad, this teenager is creating history in Indian tennis by becoming the first ever Indian to break into the top-50 WTA rankings. Currently ranked 29, she was the first India Woman to compete at the Grand Slam level.
The tennis player hit to fame when she competed with Serena Williams in the third round of the Australian Open, in which she went down fighting.
In 2006 Doha Asian Games, Sania won the silver in the women's singles category and the gold in the mixed doubles partnering Leander Paes. She was also part of the Indian women's team that won the silver in the team event.
Sania Mirza was honoured with the prestigious Arjuna award by the Indian government for the year 2004.
AMITABH BACHCHAN
Angry old man
Although his first film 'Saat Hindustani' sank without a trace, Amitabh Bachchan is currently one of the most prominent figures in the Indian film industry.
The Big B has appeared in over 130 films, many of which were huge hits.
Amitabh Bachchan is married to actress Jaya Bhaduri and is the father of Shweta Nanda and actor Abhishek Bachchan.
He made his debut into politics in 1984. He was elected to parliament with a huge majority from his home city of Allahabad. But his stint in politics came to an abrupt end when he was embroiled in some political scandals.
Amitabh Bachchan launched his company ABCL-Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited in the early 1990's and hosted Miss World in India. However, failed attempts at film production led ABCL to bankruptcy.
The new millennium changed things for Amitabh Bachchan. His TV show 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' broke all TRP records and the movie 'Mohaabtien' was a big hit.
Amitabh Bachchan endorses some of the biggest brands Dabur, Cadbury, ICICI bank, Maruti Versa, Parker Pens and Reid and Taylor Suits.
The actor is also a goodwill ambassador to UNICEF as well as a brand ambassador for IIFA which is India's first International Bollywood awards.
AZIM PREMJI
Azim Hashim Premji is the Chairman & CEO of Wipro Technologies, which today is one of the largest software companies in India. It has its headquarters in the Indian Silicon City Bangalore.
He was rated the richest person in the country from 1999 to 2005 by Forbes. His wealth today is estimated at 58,451 crores INR which places him as the fourth richest Indian; behind DLF Chairman Kushal Pal Singh and ahead of Sterlite Chairman Anil Agarwal.
Premji was just finishing his undergraduate engineering studies at Stanford University in 1966 when his father passed away.He had to come back to India to handle the family's fledgling vegetable oil business.
Premji started off with a simple vision: to build an organization on a foundation of Values. Premji eventually sought — and received — permission to study arts courses by correspondence to complete the requirements for his bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering.
In 2000, he was conferred an honorary doctorate by the Manipal Academy of Higher Education. He was also adjudged the Business Man of the Year 2000 by Business India and is featured in the Business Weeks all-time top 30 entrepreneurs of the world in 2007. He is a member of the Prime Minister's Advisory Committee for Information Technology in India.
Azim Premiji set up the Azim Premji Foundation using his own financial resources. The Foundation says it "dedicates itself to the cause of Universalization of Elementary Education in India".
SONIA GANDHI
Indian 'bahu'
Sonia Maino, now Sonia Gandhi, has weaved a dramatic way to a place in history by becoming the President of India's century-old Congress party.
Sonia Gandhi's involvement with public life began after the assassination of her mother-in-law and her husband, Rajiv Gandhi's election as Prime Minister.
However, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on May 21, 1991, after which there were calls for her to enter politics by members of the Congress Party
She is the Chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance in the Lok Sabha, and the leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party. Sonia Gandhi also became the fifth from the Nehru family to take over the Congress reins.
In the May 2004 Parliamentary Elections to the Lok Sabha, Sonia led the Congress Party to victory over the ruling BJP.
Sonia Gandhi declined the opportunity to become the first foreign-born Indian Prime Minister.
She was named the third most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine in the year 2004 and currently ranks 13th. She was also named among the Time 100 most influential people in the world in 2007.
Gandhi has published two books about her late husband, 'Rajiv' and 'Rajiv's World', and edited two volumes of letters exchanged between Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi from 1922 to 1964, 'Freedom's Daughter' and 'Two Alone, Two Together'.
VISWANATHAN ANAND
The grand master
Viswanathan Anand, popularly known as 'Vishy, the Tiger from Madras' learnt chess at the tender age of six. His assets, his lightning speed of play & intuition saw him through as the Youngest National Champion at the age of 16.
In 1987 he became the First Asian to win the World Junior Championship. He also earned the coveted Grandmaster title. He carved a special place on the chessboard by winning the strongest tournament at that time, The "Reggio Emilia" in Italy in 1991 ahead of Kasparov Karpov.
Vishy has been remarkably consistent since he became a Grandmaster. He has won well over 50 prestigious titles and three Chess Oscars since 1989.
Ice maiden
She may prefer nowadays, to be known as 'Aishwarya Bachchan', but her maiden name is as famous as the family she has married into.
Aishwarya Rai, now married to Abhishek Bachchan, first came under the limelight as the winner of the Miss World title in 1994, following which she spent a few years in modeling.
She debuted in a Tamil movie, Mani Ratnam's Iruvar. Her introduction in Bollywood was in the movie Aur pyaar ho gaya, which however did not perform well at the box office and sank into obscurity.
Her shot to fame was however achieved by Hum Dil de Chuke Sanam, for which she received the Filmfare Best Actress Award. Her appearance in Devdas with Sharukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit in 2002, gave her international recognition when the film received a special screening in the Cannes Festival.
She then went on to do a few Hollywood projects like The Mistress of Spices, The Last Legion and most recently Provoked.
As she gained fame in the west, her name appeared in Time magazine's list of '100 most influential people' and on shows like 'Oprah' and 'Late Show with David Letterman'.
She married into one of the most popular families in the film fraternity, the Bachchans, in a ceremony that was heavily covered by the media.
ARUNDHATI ROY
Goddess of small things
"He stepped onto the path that led through the swamp to the History House.
He left no ripples in the water.
No footprints on the shore.
He held his mundu spread above his head to dry. The wind lifted it like a sail. He was suddenly happy.Things will get worse, he thought to himself. Then better. He was walking swiftly now, towards the Heart of Darkness. As lonely as a wolf.
The God of Loss.
The God of Small Things.
Naked but for his nail varnish."
The God of Small Things is the first book ever written by Arundhati Roy, and as of 2006, is her only novel. Completed in 1996, the book took four years to write. The quality of the writing was first recognized by Pankaj Mishra, an editor with HarperCollins, who sent it to three British publishers. Roy received half-a-million pounds (approx. $970,000 USD) in advances, and rights to the book were sold in 21 countries.
The book is a description of how the small things in life build up, translate into people's behavior and affect their lives. The book won the Booker Prize in 1997.
She has since devoted herself solely to nonfiction and politics, publishing two more collections of essays, as well as working for social causes. Roy says her writing is intentionally passionate and hysterical "I want to wake the neighbours, that's my whole point. I want everybody to open their eyes".
She is a figure-head of the anti-globalization movement and a vehement critic of neo-imperialism and of the global policies of the United States. She also criticizes India's nuclear weapons policies and the approach to industrialization and rapid development as currently being practiced in India, including the Narmada Dam project and the power company Enron's activities in India.
In 2002, she won the Lannan Foundation's Cultural Freedom Award for her contributions to social causes and was also awarded the Sydney Peace Prize in May 2004 for her work in social campaigns and her advocacy of non-violence.
In January 2006 she was awarded the Sahitya Akademi award for her collection of essays on contemporary issues, The Algebra of Infinite Justice, but she declined to accept it.
MUKESH AMBANI
R-King
Mukesh Ambani, son of late Dirubhai Ambani, and brother of Anil Ambani, is the chairman, managing director and the largest shareholder of Reliance Industries, India's largest private sector company and a Fortune 500 Company.
His personal stake in Reliance Industries is 48%. His wealth is US$ 20.1 billion as of March 2007 (Forbes), making him the world's 14th richest person and the second richest person in India. However, his wealth was valued at US$ 40 billion in July taking into account his holding in Reliance Industries and group companies.
Mukesh Ambani joined Reliance in 1981 and initiated Reliance's backward integration from textiles into polyester fibres and further into petrochemicals. In this process, he directed the creation of 60 new, world-class manufacturing facilities involving diverse technologies that have raised Reliance's manufacturing capacities from less than a million tonnes to twelve million tonnes per year.
Mukesh has set up the largest and most complex information and communications technology initiative in the world in the form of Reliance Infocomm Limited. However, Reliance Infocom now is under ADAG (Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group) post the brothers' split.
Mukesh is also steering Reliance's initiatives in a world scale, offshore, deep water oil and gas exploration and production program, a pan-India petroleum retail network.
He was conferred the United States-India Business Council (USIBC) leadership award for "Global Vision" 2007 in Washington and the World Communication Award for the Most Influential Person in Telecommunications in 2004. He ranked 42nd among the World's Most Respected Business Leaders. He was also ranked No.1 for the second consecutive year, in The Power List 2004 published by India Today, March 2004 and recorded as the first Trillionaire in India, June 2007
JEEV MILKHA SINGH
Some handicap this!
Jeev Milkha Singh was the first Indian golfer to become a member of the European Tour. Jeev is the highest ranked Indian golfer in the world, breaking into the top 100 in October 2006. He is the son of the famous Indian athlete Milkha Singh. Singh
Singh first victory was the NCAA Division II individual golf championship in 1993. He also won a number of amateur tournaments in U.S. His first professional win came at the 1993 Southern Oklahoma State Open, a minor local event, but he played mainly in Asia, where he was a regular winner in the mid 1990s. In 1997 he finished seventh at the European Tour qualifying school, and he joined the tour the following year.
His best season in Europe up until 2006 was in 1999, when he came 50th on the Order of Merit. He struggled with injury in the early years of the new century but in April 2006 he won the Volvo China Open, becoming the second Indian player to win on the European Tour after Arjun Atwal. He also won the season ending Volvo Masters, which elevated him to a final position of 16th on the Order of Merit.
He finished 2006 as the winner of the Asian Tour Order of Merit and capped his season with a pair of back to back wins in Japan to become the first Indian to make the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings. In 2007 he became the first Indian golfer to participate in the Masters Tournament.
In 2007, Jeev Milkha Singh received India's fourth highest civil honour the Padma Shri for his contribution to Golf.
LEANDER PAES
Doubles king
Leander Adrian Paes, a recipent of the Padmashri award for contributions to tennis, currently features in the doubles events in the ATP tour and the Davis Cup tournaments. He is famous for his several memorable Davis Cup performances playing for India and also for winning the single bronze medal for India in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.
Paes showed promise early in his career by winning titles at the Junior US Open and the Junior Wimbledon. He turned professional in 1991. He rose to the number 1 in the world in the junior rankings. In 1992 he reached the quarter finals of the doubles event in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics with Ramesh Krishnan.
He went one better at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, where he beat Fernando Meligeni to win the Bronze medal, thus becoming the first Indian since KD Jadhav (Bronze in 1952 Helsinki Olympics) to win an individual medal for more than 4 decades. He was awarded the highest sporting honour by the Government of India, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 1996.
His partnering with Mahesh Bhupati for doubles events made him hugely popular. Theirs was the first doubles team in India to make it to Grand Slams. In the year 1999, he ranked no.1 among doubles.
He is also the recipient of India's highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 1996-1997 and the Padmashri award in 2001 for his contribution to Tennis in India.
Ek do teen...
She may have not been in the limelight for nearly seven years after her marriage a doctor in USA, but Madhuri Dixit has always been vibrantly alive in the hearts of many. Recently, on Women's International Day, a special article was released to pay tribute to Bollywood Heroines. Dixit topped the list of the Best Bollywood Actresses Ever
Born into a Marathi Chitpavan Brahmin family, Madhuri Dixit made her acting debut in Abodh in 1984. After a few minor roles in other movies, she came under the limelight in the film Tezaab, where she played a lead role. Her dance sequence in a song in the same movie, Ek do teen had made it popular even today.
She went onto to star in other box office hits such as 'Dayavan', 'Ram Lakhan', 'Khalnayak', 'Saajan', 'Beta' and blockbuster 'Hum aapke hain kaun'. She won her fourth Fimfare Best Actress Award for 'Dil to Pagal Hai'.
Her dancing skills are legendary, witnessed in movies such as Tezaab, Beta, Key sera in Pukar, Maar Dala in Devdas, which was her last movie, 7 years ago.
She has a film title named after her, 'Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon' which few in Bollywood have to their credit. She is also a muse for famous painter M F Hussain, who cast her in his movie Gaja Gamini, which was a tribute to her.
She has now made a comeback in 2007 in a movie 'Aaja Nachle'
ANIL AMBANI
In the Power list
Anil Ambani, brother of Mukesh Ambani and son of late Dirubhai Ambani, has a net-worth of US$ 18.2 billion, making him the 18th richest person in the world. His was the world's fastest-growing multi-billion-dollar fortune in percentage terms as his wealth tripled in 1 year.
Anil is chairman of Reliance Capital, Reliance Communications and Chairman & Managing Director, Reliance Energy, and was formerly Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited. His personal stake in Reliance Communications is 66%.
Ambani joined Reliance in 1983 as Co-Chief Executive Officer and is credited with having pioneered many financial innovations in the Indian capital markets including India's first foray into overseas capital markets with international public offerings of global depositary receipts, convertibles and bonds.
He directed Reliance in its efforts to raise, since 1991, around US$2 billion from overseas financial markets; with a 100-year Yankee bond issue in January 1997 being the high point. After which people regarded him as a Financial Wizard.
He was polled as India's most admired Chief Executive for 2004, for the sixth year in Succession, in the Business Barons (India's leading business magazine) and ranked No.1 for the second consecutive year, in The Power List 2004 published by India Today, March 2004.
He was also named amongst 'The Power 50 - India's 50 most powerful decision-makers in Politics, Business & Finance', Business Barons, August 1999.
Mail-man Sabeer Bhatia is one of the poster boys of Indian success story at Silicon Valley. He is better known as the man who co-founded Hotmail.
He later sold it to Microsoft for $400 million and today Hotmail is the world's largest e-mail provider, with over 50 million registered users.
After Hotmail, he launched the e-commerce business site Arzoo.com in 1999, claiming the venture had the potential to be twice as big as Hotmail, but the site fails to prosper as the dotcom bubble bursts.
He was awarded the 'Entrepreneur of the Year,' in 1997 and 'TR100' award presented by MIT to 100 young innovators who are expected to have the greatest impact on technology in the next few years. He was named by TIME as one of the 'People to Watch' in International Business in 2002.
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