Granddaughter Of India’s Biggest Movie Star To Attend Country’s Top B-School — But Not Without Controversy

Navya Naveli Nanda, granddaughter of superstar Amitabh Bachchan, will attend the country’s top business school: IIM-Ahmedabad. Instagram photo

They call him The Big B — Hindi cinema’s biggest-ever movie star. Now his granddaughter is headed to a Big B of her own: the country’s most prestigious B-school.

Amitabh Bachchan is India’s most famous actor, a living legend. His granddaughter, Navya Naveli Nanda, is forging her own path — through graduate business education, having gained admission to one of the country’s most selective B-schools, the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad.

Navya will attend IIM-A’s Blended Post-Graduate Program, a two-year hybrid MBA program launched in January 2024. “Dreams do come true !!!!!!” the scion of movie royalty wrote on her Instagram page. “The next 2 years… with the best people & faculty! Blended Post Graduate Programme (BPGP) Class of 2026.”

A GRADUATE OF FORDHAM U

IIM-A’s BPGP is a part-online, part on-campus program designed for those with at least three years’ work experience. It is a case-based program, with five on-campus modules and the online portion taught in synchronous mode. In total the 36-credit program comprises 900 hours of instruction and project work.

The total fee for the BPGP MBA is INR 20 lakh (INR 20,00,000), not including travel and board; that’s around $23,000.

According to The Nashik Media, Navya, 26, earned admission to her country’s most prestigious B-school without submitting a score from the Common Admission Test, Graduate Management Admission Test, or other entrance exam. That, says IIM-A Associate Professor Promila Agarwal, is not unusual for someone with such a solid CV. “Irrespective, hats off to everyone for being courageous enough to sign up for rigorous program,” Agarwal posted to X, formerly Twitter.

After attending a premier boarding school in London, Navya went to college at Fordham University in New York, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Digital Technology and UX Design in 2020.

RESPONSE TO CONTROVERSY

However, reports of Navya’s admission to IIM-A were met with some controversy, as readers of the Times and others leveled accusations of unfair influence in response to the news that she did not submit a CAT score for admission. The school receives hundreds of thousands of applications every year but admits only a few hundred to each program, making it perhaps the world’s most selective business school.

Navya’s grandfather, Amitabh Bachchan, 81, is a giant of Hindi cinema, with pivotal roles in more than 200 films, and is currently a co-host of television trivia show Kaun Banega Crorepati 16; his wife and Navya’s grandmother, Jaya Bachchan, is also a legendary actor and a former member of India’s parliament. Navya herself is an actress and model who has more than 1 million followers on Instagram.

And Navya had an answer for critics: In response to accusations of unfairness, she posted a photo with her professor, Prasad Sir, who she says was instrumental in to preparing to apply to IIM-A, and noted that she did sit for the CAT. “Thank you to @mba_ims for your guidance in preparing for the entrance exams. This is Prasad Sir, who played a crucial role in helping me succeed in the CAT/IAT exams. I am honoured to have learned from one of the BEST teachers.

“Celebrating at the @mba_ims office the day I received my acceptance was a special moment.”

DON’T MISS MEET THE INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AHMEDABAD MBA CLASS OF 2024 and IIM-AHMEDABAD RELEASES 2024 PGPX PLACEMENTS

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