Navya Naveli Nanda says empowerment starts with choice. In an exclusive interview with Variety India, she spoke about the pressure young women face in relationships, family roles, and professional life, while stressing the value of staying honest about personal goals. The podcaster, entrepreneur, student, and soon-to-be author said real freedom comes from choosing a path on your own terms and accepting that no one can give 100% to every role every day.
Navya Naveli Nanda on empowerment and choice
According to Variety India, Navya said pressure shapes the lives of many young women, from appearance to behavior to the roles they are expected to play at home and at work. “Yeah, I think there’s a lot of pressure in general, I think for young women, whether it’s from the way that we look to what we do to, you know, certain roles that we play in society or within families, even in our professional lives,” she said.
She added that women often struggle while trying to manage the many roles others expect them to take on. Navya said her grandmother’s advice stays with her. “If we start looking at what people expect of us, we forget what we want from ourselves,” she said, recalling what her naani told her. For Navya, that idea defines empowerment. “That’s also what I think empowerment means, which is the freedom to make your own choices on your own terms.”
Young women, pressure, and authenticity
Navya also said young people need to stop shaping themselves around outside expectations. “I think one pressure young people should stop placing on themselves is probably trying to mould themselves into what society expects them to be,” she said. She pointed to social media as one reason many young people lose sight of who they really are. “You don’t know whether what you’re seeing on Instagram is real or what someone’s doing is real,” she said.That is why she believes authenticity matters more than ever. “I think in today’s world, it’s probably better to be as authentic as you can,” she said.Nanda also spoke candidly about the pressure she has personally learned to release this year. “I can’t always be 100% in every single role,” she said. With many identities to balance, Navya now takes a simpler approach. “So I wake up every day and I choose the role that I want to play and I try to focus on just that and give that my 100% rather than trying to be great at everything because that’s not going to happen.”Navya Naveli Nanda belongs to one of India’s most prominent families and has built a public identity of her own as an entrepreneur, podcaster, and advocate for women’s health and empowerment. She is the granddaughter of screen icons Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan. Her uncle, Abhishek Bachchan, is a well-known actor; her wife, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, is an international star; and her brother, Agastya Nanda, is an actor.
