10 influential Indian artists

In the 1950s, Ravi Shankar (1920-2012) was one of the first to popularize Indian music in the West. The meditative sound and the soaring drive of the ragas of this sitar virtuoso inspired and influenced different musicians, from violinist Yehudi Menuhin to Beatle George Harrison (photo).

The star conductor was born in Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1936 and went to Vienna to study at the age of 18. Zubin Mehta has celebrated a successful career in Europe, the US and Israel, all while remaining connected to his homeland. For instance, he has created a foundation to support the popularization of classical western music in India.

The Hindi film industry would never have become such an internationally successful phenomenon without the late filmmaker and producer Yash Chopra (1932-2012). Known as the "King of Romance" of Indian cinema, Chopra was behind some of the cult classics that established the Bollywood brand outside of India.

And here's the "King of Bollywood": Superstar Shah Rukh Khan, also known as SRK, is the most successful actor in India — he has more fans worldwide than Johnny Depp and Tom Cruise combined. His roles in hit melodramatic films have established him as the quintessential "romantic hero," with his humor and charisma definitely contributing to his charm.

Kapoor (1924-1988) was one of the most influential actors and filmmakers in the history of cinema. The "greatest showman of Hindi cinema" conquered the hearts of the Indian people and critics alike in the 1950s. Instead of portraying heroic figures, he was one of the first to embody "the ordinary man" with likable weaknesses. He has been immortalized in wax at Madame Tussaud's Museum in India.

Contemporary art "made in India" has been booming for decades, and one of the scene's most successful stars is Subodh Gupta. His works fetch record prices on the art market. Bihar, the state where Gupta was born, is one of the poorest in India. He uses ordinary items in his work that reflect his own childhood as well as India's 20th-century transformation.

Award-winning film actress Kajol Devgan is one of the most famous and popular stars in Bollywood. The Indian beauty icon is also a social activist and the mother of two children.

The Indian author was among Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in 2014. After winning the Man Booker Prize in 1997 with her novel "The God of Small Things," she became a prominent anti-globalization activist.

The composer's film scores combine Indian classical music with electronic beats. A.R. Rahman's soundtrack for Danny Boyle's 2008 film "Slumdog Millionaire" won a Golden Globe and two Academy Awards — a first for an Asian. He was also included on the Time 100 list of the world's most influential people in 2009.

In 2018 the 90-year-old architect was honored with the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the world's top award in the field. The jury noted his "deep sense of responsibility and a desire to contribute to his country and its people through high quality, authentic architecture." The Aranya Low Cost Housing, one of his most noteworthy designs, offers a solution to the housing shortage in the Indore state.