Navya Nanda on choosing family business over Bollywood, says 'I respect and love it for what it is but...'

Navya Naveli Nanda speaks on choosing family business over Bollywood

Navya Naveli Nanda, who was born into one of the most renowned film families in India, could have easily followed in her grandfather Amitabh Bachchan's shining footsteps.

However, Navya has made the decision to follow a completely different path.

In a recent interview with Mojo Story, Navya spoke openly about why acting was never a dream for her. Despite growing up surrounded by cinema and celebrity, she admits she never felt drawn to it.

“No, never. I always get asked this… and I don’t know why. I feel like I was always raised in a way that my parents told me that don’t do something if you’re not 100% passionate or confident, or it’s something that you really want to do. It was never something that I wanted to do. I was always fascinated by tractors, my dad and what he was doing. And when he’d come back from work, I’d talk to him about it. That to me was far more exciting.”

Her interests, she says, were always closer to her father Nikhil Nanda’s work in the family’s agricultural business, Escorts Kubota, rather than the bright lights of Bollywood.

That doesn’t mean she doesn’t love cinema. On the contrary, she deeply appreciates it but as a viewer.

“I do enjoy watching movies. I love listening to music, as part of the work my family does — I’m constantly watching what they’re doing, and I’m constantly watching what other people are doing. I love consuming it…the content, the songs, the movies,” she said.

“One of my secret talents is that I know the hook steps for any song possible. I love it for what it is, the medium that it is, because I think it holds a lot of power. I respect it and love it for what it is, but I never wanted to be a part of it. My interests and my excitement and passion lie somewhere else.”

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In a previous interview with the Hindustan Times, Navya had expressed similar sentiments.

“Well, I also come from a business family too. So, I was very clear that (I don’t want to join acting and do this). At the end of college, I realised that this is what I wanted to do.”

Having completed her education abroad, Navya is now pursuing further studies at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Returning to academia after six years, she admits, wasn’t easy. The transition back to exams and coursework has been challenging — but also deeply fulfilling.

Outside of academics, Navya wears many hats. She is the founder of Project Naveli, a non-profit dedicated to gender equality, the co-founder of Aara Health, a women’s health tech start-up, and she plays an active role in her family’s business ventures.

She also hosts the popular podcast What The Hell Navya, where she shares honest, often humorous conversations with her mother Shweta Bachchan and grandmother Jaya Bachchan.