From Ananya Panday to Gukesh Dommaraju, 6 Indians in 2025 Forbes 30 under 30 list

Last year, at the Paralympics in Paris, teenager Sheetal Devi used her right shoulder to pull the string of her bow shed held with her right foot. As she loosened her jaw and shoulder, she let the arrow go, hitting the mark—an impressive bronze at the event. Now, the 17-year-old ‘armless archer’ from India is on the latest Forbes 30 under 30 Asia 2025 list.

Joining the Arjuna Awardee is no other than India’s new chess grandmaster, 18-year-old Gukesh Dommaraju. Not only was he the second-youngest grandmaster in competitive chess, but Dommaraju was also the youngest ever to bag a 2750 FIDE rating.

These two sporting legends, still in their teens, were joined by entertainers in film and music, who made their mark in Asia.

Twenty-nine-year-old Sulagna Chatterjee is a filmmaker who is set to release her crowdfunded film Pehli Date. She focuses on movies and series from a queer perspective, and has writing credits in Firsts by Dice Media, Code M by Jio Studio and Feels Like Ishq from Netflix.

Singer-songwriter Anuv Jain’s rise to global stardom was swift despite his acoustic style of music. Strumming an occasional ukulele or guitar, Jain became a YouTube sensation as viewers played his track ‘Husn’ more than 20 crore times. Another 10 crore views came from his hit ‘Baarishein’. Jain went on a global tour in 2024 and has more than 1.6 crore monthly listeners on Spotify.

Following them on the list are two new additions to Bollywood. Forbes went on to hail 29-year-old Ishaan Khatter as being “on the verge of becoming an A-lister both in Bollywood and Hollywood.” After bagging the 2019 Filmfare Award for the Best Male Debutant with Beyond the Clouds, Khatter went on to headline the 2020 Netflix film A Suitable Boy. In 2024, the young actor debuted in an international series with Hollywood biggies such as Nicole Kidman in The Perfect Couple.

Ananya Panday is not only an actor, she is a true influencer. Commanding 2.6 crore followers on Instagram alone, 26-year-old Panday recently became the first-ever Indian brand ambassador for luxury label Chanel.

The significance of the Forbes list may have gone down over the years in the global circle, but having six Indians in a list of 30 in all of Asia forms a significant chunk. It means one in every five persons on the list is an Indian. This time, it also features a right mix of music, film, and sports, honouring what youth is about—inspiration, life, and exuberance.

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