Nita Ambani recently participated in the Harvard India Conference 2025, where she delivered the keynote address and engaged in a conversation with Nitin Nohria, former Dean of Harvard Business School. A video from a rapid-fire discussion at the conference has been widely shared online.
During the event, Ambani shared a personal story and highlighted India’s increasing global influence in areas such as education, sports, culture, philanthropy, and technology. Addressing an audience of young leaders, she encouraged them to dream big, lead with purpose, and shape India’s future on the global stage. Before her keynote address at the Harvard India Conference 2025, Nita Amban recounted how her 90-year-old mother felt emotional and proud that Harvard had invited her to speak, despite the family’s inability to afford to send her there when she was younger.
A clip from the event showed Nita Ambani participating in a rapid-fire session where she answered questions about Bollywood. When asked to choose between Hollywood and Bollywood, she chose the latter. She revealed that her favorite actor in Hindi cinema is Amitabh Bachchan.When asked to pick between Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh, she chose Ranbir, explaining, “Ranbir, because my son Akash will be very happy—he’s his best friend.”
Nita Ambani was then asked, “Who would you rather have dinner with, Ranbir Kapoor or Bill Gates?” After giving it some thought, Nita chose the Bollywood actor over the former Microsoft CEO which made the crowd cheer.

For those unversed, Ranbir Kapoor and Akash Ambani share a strong friendship, evident in their frequent public appearances. Akash also attended Ranbir’s intimate wedding to Alia Bhatt. Highlighting their bond, Ranbir and Alia performed along with Akash and his wife Sholka at Anant Ambani’s pre-wedding celebration.