Actor-producer Priyanka Chopra shared an emotional note on February 17, 2026, after delivering a fireside keynote address at Harvard Business School during India Week. The global star, who was joined by her longtime friend and business partner Anjula Acharia, spoke on the theme “The India we imagine.”
Taking to social media, Chopra described how the day began with nerves but turned into a deeply moving experience. “So, this is how my day started. I was supposed to give a fireside keynote address with one of my closest friends and business partner Anjula Acharia, to conclude India week at the prestigious Harvard Business School. The topic was ‘The India we imagine’… no big deal, I thought. You can do this, Priyanka,” she wrote.
However, she revealed that looking at the packed auditorium shifted her perspective. “But Looking out into the audience, I only had one thought - You are the India I imagined. Let me explain.”
From Iowa to Harvard
Chopra reflected on her teenage years in the United States, recalling her time at schools in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and later in Massachusetts during the mid-1990s. “When my 12 year old self landed in a high school in Cedar Rapids Iowa, and subsequently to Newton North High School in Massachusetts in the mid 90s, there were not many looked like me around. I would have never imagined in 30 something years, I would be speaking to you, the future of not just India, but our culture and our world, on this stage, in this iconic chamber…”
She added that seeing an audience filled with “Desi… and Desi allies” moved her to tears, especially given how different her own teenage experience had been.
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“To see an auditorium full of students, dressed in sarees and kurtas at the campus of HBS (@harvard) in Boston, Massachusetts, where I grew up... to see so many people from my community at one of the best schools in the world, made my heart burst with pride. You are the future I dreamed to see.”
Chopra also expressed hope for the next generation, writing, “We all stand on the shoulders of the generations before us. I I’m so excited that my daughter will have all of you to look up to.” She concluded her post by thanking the students for their warmth and extended a special note to her husband and daughter, calling them her “forever Valentine’s.”
Post Comes Amid Online Backlash
Chopra’s heartfelt message comes a day after she faced social media criticism over a recent interview clip with Variety. In the video segment titled ‘Indian or not Indian with Priyanka Chopra,’ she was asked to differentiate between Indian and foreign foods. The clip quickly garnered thousands of views online. However, viewers soon pointed out an issue unrelated to the conversation itself — the map of India shown at the beginning of the video.
The video opened with a sketch of India’s map alongside the title. Social media users alleged that the map was incorrect, claiming that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) was missing from the depiction.
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