Famous Indian Media Personalities

Fareed Zakaria is an Indian-American journalist, author, and political commentator. He has been serving as an editor-at-large for Time and editor for Newsweek International. He has also been serving as a columnist for Newsweek. His show, Fareed Zakaria GPS, which he hosts for CNN, has won a Peabody Award. 

Apart from being a legendary journalist, Prannoy Roy is also a psephologist, a chartered accountant, and an economist. Initially known as the anchor of The World This Week, he later co-established NDTV. Known for his extensive reports on political issues, he has won awards such as the Leverhulme Trust (UK) Fellowship.

Born to Goan Christians in Bombay, Dinesh D'Souza later moved to the U.S. for higher studies. The Indian-American right-wing filmmaker and writer is known for his anti-Obama documentary 2016: Obama's America. Convicted of illegal campaign contribution, he was later pardoned by Trump. He was also associated with an adultery scandal.

Considered India's most successful Test captain, legendary cricketer Sourav Ganguly, nicknamed Maharaj, was also arguably one of the best one-day batsmen of his time. Also known as the God of the Off Side, he now heads the BCCI as its president. He was initially also a talented footballer.

Born in Pune, Shibani Dandekar grew up in Australia and Africa, before returning to India, as a model and an anchor. She has hosted shows such as After Hours and also appeared in films such as Sultan. She is also the sister of VJ Anusha Dandekar and the girlfriend of actor Farhan Akhtar.

Akshay Kumar is one of the most popular and successful actors of Hindi cinema. He has been honored with several prestigious awards, such as Filmfare Awards, a National Film Award, and Padma Shri. Dubbed Indian Jackie Chan, Akshay Kumar is renowned for performing dangerous stunts in films.

Referred to as King of Bollywood and King Khan in the media, Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan is considered one of the most successful film stars of the Hindi film indusrty. Beginning his career as a TV actor, he struggled for many years before making it big as a Hindi film star. 

Tamil actor Sathyaraj had started his acting career with Komal Swamynathan’s drama troupe. He then stepped into movies and was initially typecast in roles of minor villains. He later took on lead roles. His popularity soared with his iconic role of Kattappa in the two Baahubali movies.

One of the most prominent political and current affairs commentators in India, Arun Shourie first gained fame with his anti-Emergency articles in the Indian Express in the 1970s. Once a World Bank economist, he has also won the Padma Bhushan and the Ramon Magsaysay Award, and been a Rajya Sabha MP.

Padma Bhushan-winning journalist Aroon Purie is the founder of the India Today group and was the Reader's Digest editor-in-chief. The LSE-educated journalist was dragged into a controversy when he was found to have plagiarized part of Grady Hendrix’s article on Rajinikanth. He is also the father of Bollywood actor Koel Purie.

Better known as the younger brother of renowned Indian actor Ayushmann Khurrana, Aparshakti Khurana is an actor who was once a cricketer and had also captained the Haryana U-19 cricket team. He has impressed audiences with his Filmfare-nominated roles in Stree and Dangal and has also worked as a composer.

Initially a bodybuilder, R. Sarathkumar had won the Mr. Madras University title. After stints as a Dinakaran journalist and a travel business owner, he grew up to be the Supreme Star of Tamil movies, with films such as Ragasiya Police, and later also became an MP and launched his own party.

Barkha Dutt is an Indian journalist and author. She is best known for her association with The Washington Post and The Hindustan Times where she works as an opinion columnist. Dutt achieved national recognition in 1999 for covering the Kargil War between India and Pakistan. Barkha Dutt is the recipient of many prestigious awards, such as the Padma Shri.

Known for his critically acclaimed roles in films such as Andhadhun and Vicky Donor, Ayushmann Khurrana is also a fine singer, with songs such as Paani da to his credit. The National Award-winning actor is also a former winner of MTV Roadies and has been an anchor, too.

Known for playing the villain in hits such as Khoon Bhari Maang, Kabir Bedi was born to a British mother and an Indian father. He has also impressed audiences with plays such as Shakespeare's Othello. His roles in the film Octopussy and the Italian series Sandokan made him an international sensation.

The daughter of Kannada poet P. Lankesh, Gauri Lankesh began her career as a journalist for The Times of India. She also worked as an editor of Lankesh Patrike. Later, she was known for her firebrand left-wing activism against Hindutva and was eventually shot dead by three men near her Bengaluru home.

Former editor-in-chief of The Indian Express, Padma Bhushan-winning journalist Shekhar Gupta is also the founder of the online publication ThePrint. Known for his political journalism and his weekly column National Interest, he also hosted Walk The Talk on NDTV for 15 years. He has penned books such as India Redefines Its Role.

Part of the Kasturi family that manages The Hindu Group, N. Ram has been the MD of the group in the past. The Padma Bhushan awardee has also penned books such as Riding the Nuclear Tiger and has previously represented Tamil Nadu, his home state, in the Ranji Trophy cricket matches.

Legendary Indian politician Bal Thackeray, or Balasaheb Thackeray, was the patriarch of one of the most influential political families of India and the founder of the Shiv Sena. He went from being a cartoonist to the godfather of Maharashtra, though his overtly regional and Hindu nationalist ideals were often criticized.

Known for his bestselling book Train to Pakistan, Khushwant Singh was a reputed lawyer, politician, and journalist. He was also known for his widely popular column With Malice towards One and All, which was featured in many Indian newspapers. His post-colonial writings mirrored his wit and sarcasm.

Farah Khan was not a stranger to films, being the daughter of a stuntman/filmmaker and a first cousin of actor/director Farhan Akhtar. Initially wanting to be a director, she focused on choreography later. The National Award- and Filmfare-winning choreographer is known for her work in films such as Dabangg and Koi... Mil Gaya.

While he initially played Ravana in local Ramleela productions of his native state Madhya Pradesh, Indian actor Ashutosh Rana later soared to fame with the series Swabhimaan. The NSD alumnus later won Filmfare awards for his roles in Dushman and Sangharsh. He is married to actor Renuka Shahane.

Anusha Dandekar is an Indian-Australian VJ, actress, and singer. She is popularly known for hosting many TV shows. Beginning her career as a TV anchor and VJ, she branched out into acting as well, making her film debut with a role in the Bollywood film Mumbai Matinee. Since then, she has appeared in a few other movies.

Arnab Goswami is an Indian journalist and news anchor. He is serving as the editor-in-chief and managing director of Republic Media Network which he launched in 2017. Goswami achieved national recognition when he served as the news anchor of ET Now and Times Now between 2006 and 2016. He has also been subjected to criticism, including accusations of opinionated reporting.

The daughter of a retired navy officer, Nikita Dutta is a former Femina Miss India finalist and an actor known for films such as Lekar Hum Deewana Dil. She is also a popular TV star, who has impressed audiences as Suman Tiwari in Ek Duje Ke Vaaste.

Better known as the younger sister of VJ and model Malaika Arora, Amrita Arora is a VJ and actor in her own right. She has been part of films such as Awara Paagal Deewana. She quit films later and is now married to construction business owner Shakeel Ladak.

Rahul Khanna is an Indian film actor and writer best known for his work in the Hindi film industry. He is also known as the elder son of popular actor Vinod Khanna. Apart from working in the film industry, Rahul Khanna also appears on TV, hosting important events like the Miss India pageant, the IIFA Awards, and the Screen Awards.

Adnan Sami is an Indian musician, singer, pianist, and music composer. Best known for his skills as a piano player, Sami was named the world's fastest keyboard player by Keyboard magazine. He is also widely regarded as the first person to have played Indian classical music on the piano. In 2020, he was awarded India's fourth-highest civilian award, Padma Shri. 

Born to a theater artiste, Remya Nambeesan began her career as a child artist in films. As she grew up, she was typecast in roles of the village belle but turned around with the film Traffic. She has also gained fame for her singing in films such as Ivan Megharoopan and Bachelor Party.

Widely known as the voice of Indian cricket, Harsha Bhogle has revolutionized Indian cricket commentary and been associated with ESPN since its early days in India. The IIM-A graduate also owns a sports-consultancy firm with his wife and has penned several books such as The Winning Way.

Born to an Indian Muslim father and a British mother in Madras, Nasser Hussain moved to England with his family, as a child. At 12, he was the youngest to join the Essex Under-15 cricket team. He grew up to become one of the best English Test cricket captains.

Rhea Chakraborty is an Indian actress and video jockey best known for her association with MTV India where she started her career. Chakraborty made headlines in 2020 when she became entangled in controversies surrounding fellow actor Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide. Rajput's family accused Chakraborty of abetment of suicide and she received backlash on social media.

Known for her firebrand anchoring on NDTV 24x7, journalist Nidhi Razdan is the daughter of former PTI editor-in-chief Krishan Razdan. She made headlines when she claimed to have been fooled by a phishing attack and made to believe that she had secured a teaching job at Harvard.