Navya Naveli Nanda: ‘There Was No Pressure Ever to Join the Family’s Film Legacy’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Growing up in one of India’s most celebrated film families, Navya Naveli Nanda could easily have followed the spotlight. As the granddaughter of legendary actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan, the young entrepreneur and philanthropist says she never felt compelled to step into the world of acting. 

In an exclusive conversation with Variety India, addressing whether there was ever an expectation to explore cinema, she says, “No, I don't think there was any pressure, and I think that my family has always been very supportive of everyone having their own independent choices, especially when it comes to their careers. So, there was no pressure ever to join a certain side or a certain legacy of the family. I think for me, growing up, it was always seeing my dad (entrepreneur Nikhil Nanda) work and seeing my dadi (paternal grandmother) and my bua (aunt) and my mom (author-philanthropist Shweta Bachchan Nanda) start businesses of their own. So, I think that's really what inspired and excited me as a kid. I was always very clear from a very young age that that was really the side that I would kind of choose and lean in to in my own career.”

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Navya’s interest lies in business, entrepreneurship and social impact. She also co-hosts a podcast with her mother and grandmother, which serves as a platform for candid, unfiltered conversations about topics often considered taboo or difficult to discuss openly at home. 

When asked how she defines achievement, especially when it's not connected to traditional markers of celebrity or stardom, Navya states, “I think this is probably a question that we all grapple with, which is, you know, what does success really mean or what does achievement really mean? I work in the development sector, and for me, achievement or success is not a large number. It's about impacting one person's life as deeply as you can, and the work that we do really tries to focus more on that rather than thousands and thousands of people. It's really about how you can change one person's life through what you're doing, and for me, that is an achievement. If I'm able to do that even daily I think I would say I'm being successful.”