Forbes India debuted its Showstoppers edition for the first time. The prestigious list features 50 individuals from the entertainment and sports industries that excelled in their respective sectors in 2022.

The film category, for instance, includes 15 actors and five filmmakers, who have had the most top-notch achievements with their theatrical releases. Films and performances from the top five mainstream film industries from India—Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada—were considered. Similarly, names of 10 actors and five filmmakers were shortlisted for OTT, plus 15 from sports.

Along with other actors Dhanush was the only actor from the South who got a place in this prestigious list. Heroines like Aishwarya Lekshmi, Sai Pallavi also featured in the list.

Four out of five directors on the film list are from South India, and whose films found success both in the country and globally. This includes SS Rajamouli for RRR, Lokesh Kanakaraj for his film Vikram, Mani Ratnam for Ponniyin Selvan:1, Goutham Ramachandran for Gargi, and Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Gangubai Kathiawadi.

The list consists of 15 sporting entities including Olympic Champion Neeraj Chopra, World Boxing Champion Nikhat Zareen and the Thomas Cup winning Indian men's badminton team. The list also includes chess stars Dommaraju Gukesh and R Vaishali, alongside cricketers Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav. The list also has three badminton players in Lakshya Sen, para-badminton world champion Manisha Ramadass, and Defalympics medallist Jerlin Anikha.

4 films and a Hollywood debut—@dhanushkraja had an exciting year, and in 2022 his most appreciated performance was in the Tamil film Thiruchitrambalam, while the most talked-about film was The Gray Man, directed by the Russo Brothers: https://t.co/PaBTutKp9P pic.twitter.com/fRFwfwZGKW

— Forbes India (@ForbesIndia) January 6, 2023