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Indian Express Power List 2025: Vijay, Pawan Kalyan and Allu Arjun fare better than Bollywood icons Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan; Alia Bhatt at 100th spot
While only seven artistes made the cut in the Indian Express Power List 2025, three of them were new additions, including actors-turned-politicians Pawan Kalyan and "Thalapathy" Vijay.

The latest edition of the Indian Express Power List is out, and it indicates that the entertainment industry is, unfortunately, in a sorry state right now, with a declining influence over the masses, which is in contrast to what one might assume. Unlike politicians who have clinched top spots, artistes – even film stars – are nowhere to be found in the first half of the 100-member list. The first two people who appear further down are, interestingly, actors-turned-politicians – Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Janasena Party chief Pawan Kalyan, and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) founding president “Thalapathy” Vijay. While only seven artistes made the cut in the Indian Express Power List 2025, three of them were new additions.
Mentioning that the year had been dull for Bollywood, with even its biggest names not making any impact, the intro to the list stated that the South, meanwhile, fared better. Although a movie star, Pawan’s inclusion in the Power List, however, was due to the political leap he took, joining forces with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and its chief N Chandrababu Naidu, negotiating with the BJP for the formation of an alliance, which eventually propelled him to the position of Andhra’s Deputy CM, with his party winning 21 seats, in contrast to the one seat it secured last time.
Check out full Indian Express Power List 2025 here
Although Vijay stepped into politics only recently, his entry was unprecedented, as exemplified by the large crowd that attended the launch of his political outfit TVK. Interestingly, his influence extends beyond films, with the star’s punchlines many a time being seen by the masses as his political statements. Having positioned himself as the enemy of the DMK in Tamil Nadu and the BJP at the Centre, Vijay aims to become a significant player in the 2026 Assembly elections.
Interestingly, the first proper film star to be featured in the list is Telugu’s Allu Arjun, at 92nd spot, who recently delivered the third-highest-grossing Indian film of all time, Pushpa 2: The Rule. Not only did his signature Pushpa hand gesture, in which he grazes his beard, go viral globally, but he also made headlines for the wrong reasons after a woman was killed in a stampede-like situation at a theatre in Hyderabad where he had arrived to attend a screening of Pushpa 2.
Filmmaker-producer Karan Johar, on the other hand, improved his position, rising from 97th to 96th rank. Karan, in the recent past, massively expanded his business base, venturing into advertising with Dharma 2.0 and the OTT sphere with Dharmatic Entertainment, and also launched a talent management agency called Dharma Cornerstone Agency.
Regardless of whether he had a release or not, Shah Rukh Khan is one of the most powerful Indians worldwide. Although his ranking slipped from 27th to 97th due to his absence from the film sphere, his contributions as an astute businessman and a sought-after brand ambassador, as well as a bonafide movie star, cannot be ignored.
The reasons behind the addition of Diljit Dosanjh to the list are numerous. They range from his achievements such as becoming the first Indian artiste to perform at Coachella, the first Punjabi performer to appear on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and more. Having gained a reputation for his political and social commentary, Diljit also won hearts with his performance in Amar Singh Chamkila last year.
Meanwhile, Amitabh Bachchan retained his 99th position from last year, underscoring that there is only one Shahenshah in India. Besides dominating the industry for half a century, winning hearts with his performances even now, he is also a popular brand ambassador and television host. Bachchan also became India’s highest tax-paying celebrity for the financial year 2024-25, paying Rs 120 crore on earnings of Rs 350 crore.
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Once dubbed “just another nepo kid”, Alia Bhatt’s rise has been meteoric, winning the hearts of millions and eventually a National Film Award for Best Actress. The first Indian to become Gucci’s global ambassador, Alia is now an international figure, having appeared in the Netflix spy-thriller Heart of Stone (2023). Even though her action-thriller Jigra bombed at the box office, Alia has two major projects in her kitty: Yash Raj Films’ ambitious spy thriller Alpha and the Sanjay Leela Bhansali-directed Love and War, featuring her alongside Ranbir Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal.


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