Parveen Babi to Aishwarya Rai: Indian stars who appeared on Time magazine cover before Deepika Padukone

Actor Deepika Padukone took her fans by surprise as she became the latest Bollywood star to appear on the cover of Time magazine. She joins a short list of Indian actors to have had the opportunity. Before her, beauty queen-turned actors Aishwarya Rai and Priyanka Chopra, actors Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Parveen Babi also appeared on the cover of the magazine. (Also read: Deepika Padukone appears on Time magazine cover as ‘global star’; says she ‘feels nothing’ about political backlash)

Parveen appeared on the Time magazine cover in 1976. The accompanying feature was called Asia’s Frenetic Film Scene, which allegedly angered many for its stereotypical representation of the Hindi film industry. As per an India Today report, film producers were upset at the article’s view on Bollywood: ‘It’s all rubbish but Satyajit Ray is brilliant.’ Nevertheless, it made Parveen the first Indian actor to grace the magazine’s cover. She wore a black outfit with pearls on the cover.

Next on the cover was Aishwarya Rai in 2003. She was called ‘the new face of film’, who was ‘leading the invasion as Bollywood goes global and gets hip’. About foraying into Hollywood, the actor had told the magazine, “For a long time I was skeptical. But now I’m realising it might be for real.”

After her, Shah Rukh Khan featured on the cover in 2004. That year, he had delivered three back-to-back good movies: Swades, Veer Zaara and Main Hoon Na. The last two even minted big money at the box office. He was featured among ‘Asia’s heroes: 20 under 40′. “India’s hottest idol is an everyday guy,” the magazine noted about him.

In 2012, Aamir Khan featured on the cover. The cover showed a close-up picture of his face. The edition was titled ‘Khan’s Quest’ and Aamir spoke about the role of an entertainer: “It’s to bring grace to society, to affect the way people think, to make the social fabric stronger.”

In 2013, Aamir once again featured on the cover as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Singer and music composer AR Rahman wrote about him, “In a world of false diplomacy and evasiveness, Aamir is a straightforward man. A man of his word. His movies are commercial successes — Lagaan was nominated for an Academy Award — but they also display a sense of social responsibility.”

Finally, Priyanka Chopra graced the cover of Time in 2016. Writing about her, her Baywatch co-star Dwayne Johnson had mentioned, “She has drive, ambition, self-respect, and she knows there’s no substitute for hard work. We always quote the saying ‘Wear your success like a T-shirt, not like a tuxedo,’ and she really does—as big a star as she is, as global as she is, as beautiful as she is, there’s this interesting quality of relatability.”