‘Didn’t know who Navya Nanda was’, but Indra Nooyi can’t stop gushing about Amitabh Bachchan’s granddaughter now

Business executive Indra Nooyi was very impressed with Amitabh Bachchan’s granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda when she mentored her. She said that she had no idea about Navya’s illustrious lineage.

Navya belongs to a family of actors on her mother’s side, and is the next in line to take over her father’s business empire, Escorts. She is one of the four founders of Aara Health, an organisation that works towards ensuring healthy and hygienic lives for women. She is also the founder of Project Naveli, a non-profit organisation that aims to promote gender equality.

In a panel discussion on Mojo Story, Indra Nooyi gushed about Navya. She said, “Navya, I’ve got to tell you, when I agreed to mentor these four girls who were running Aara Health, their proposition was a terrific proposition. And it’s a proposition that suited the Indian zeitgeist… I just loved what the four were doing; dedicated, hard-working.”

She added, “What I loved is after every meeting, writing action items, following up, coming back to me about the progress they’ve made. I had no idea who Navya Nanda was when I was mentoring her. I just saw her as this extraordinary businessperson, but very young. And I’m thinking to myself, ‘I wish I had her maturity when I was her age’. I didn’t.”

She said that she looks at Navya and co-panelist Anjula Acharia, and believes that the world is in good hands.

Also read: Navya Naveli Nanda responds to fan’s ‘try in Bollywood’ comment: ‘Beautiful women can run businesses too’

Navya has indicated that she has no interest in joining the film industry, like her grandparents and other members of her family. “I would be the fourth generation of the family taking the lead—and the first woman. It is a great sense of pride for me to be carrying forward this incredible legacy left behind by my great-grandfather HP Nanda,” she had told Vogue magazine.