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Navya Naveli Nanda, granddaughter of Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan, has opened up about her academic experience at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A). In a recent conversation with journalist Barkha Dutt on Mojo Story, Navya spoke about balancing her entrepreneurial ventures while pursuing a blended MBA programme, a journey she described as both demanding and enriching. Having completed her education abroad, Navya admitted that returning to the rigour of structured learning was not an easy shift. “It’s a two-year full-time blend of on-campus and online. Of course, it has been tough … anyone who’s done an MBA, especially from IIM-A, can attest to that,” she said. She shared that resuming academic life after six years came with challenges, particularly adapting to exams and intensive coursework. However, she credited the programme for fostering immense personal and professional growth. Reflecting on what stood out most during her time at IIM-A, Navya highlighted the relationships she built with her peers. “The best part for me has been the friendships. What I’ve learnt from my batch-mates is far more than what I’ve learnt inside the classroom,” she said. When news of her admission first surfaced, Navya faced criticism from some who questioned her choice to study at a domestic institution despite her privileged background. Addressing the controversy, IIM-A professor Promila Agarwal came forward to clarify that Navya had met all academic requirements for admission. “Even if people want to discredit her interview & CV, she, dammit, cleared the cut-off,” Agarwal wrote on X. Outside her studies, Navya continues to juggle several roles. She is the founder of the non-profit Project Naveli, co-founder of the women’s health tech startup Aara Health, part of her family’s business Escorts Kubota, and the host of the podcast What The Hell Navya, which features conversations with her mother Shweta Bachchan Nanda and grandmother Jaya Bachchan.
