Director Pa Ranjith, actors Parvathy, Nayanthara and journalist Sandhya Menon are part of GQ magazine's 50 most influential young Indians 2018 list. The list, which has names from across fields, like business, sports, entertainment and others, has "overachievers" under the age of 40.
While Sandhya Menon became the face of the fresh bout of the #MeToo movement in India, leading to several powerful men stepping aside because of the allegations, Pa Ranjith has been included for ushering in a brand of cinema that rejects stereotypes, questions the status quo and speaking of Dalit lives. His work outside the film industry, which includes the Casteless Collective, and his efforts towards building an anti-caste movement among the young in the state have also been recognised.
Parvathy has made it to the list for co-founding the Women in Cinema Collective and her uncompromising feminist position in the Malayalam film industry which has been going through several upheavals ever since a prominent woman actor was abducted and sexually assaulted in February 2017. Nayanthara has been credited for starring in successful films which revolve around the female character, thereby leading the change in the male-dominant space that is the southern cinema industry.
Others from the south who have made it to the list include photographer Joseph Radhik from Hyderabad, who has covered celebrity weddings like Naga Chaitanya-Samantha and Anushka Sharma-Virat Kohli, and Samyukta Nair of the Leela Group who is the founder of Clove The Store & Dandelion.
The list has several names from Bollywood, including Taapsee Pannu, Alia Bhatt, and Ayushmann Khurrana. You can see the full list here.