Smita Crishna-Godrej Biography
Smita Crishna-Godrej, born in 1950, is Naval Godrej's daughter and one of the two heirs of her branch of the family 14. She took Godrej & Boyce with her brother in the 2024 split 4.
Smita Crishna-Godrej's early life
Forbes gives Smita Crishna-Godrej's date of birth as 30 December 1950 1. She is the daughter of Naval and Soonuben Godrej and the younger sister of Jamshyd Godrej, who was born in Mumbai in 1949 110. Her grandfather Pirojsha Godrej co-founded Godrej & Boyce in 1897 4. Details of her schooling and early career have not been reliably published, and this page does not guess at them.
Heir to one branch of the Godrej family
Pirojsha's four sons were Sohrab, Dosa, Burjor and Naval. Sohrab had no children, and Dosa's son Rishad had none, so control passed to the children of Burjor (Adi and Nadir) and of Naval (Jamshyd and Smita) 4. For decades the two branches owned the group together, with Jamshyd running Godrej & Boyce and Adi chairing the wider Godrej Group 4.
Marriage
She married Vijay Crishna, a theatre and film actor from Shimla, best known for the play Dance Like a Man, which he performed for 25 years 8. He also worked for the Godrej group for 45 years until 2021 8. He died on 3 March 2026, aged 81 8.
The 2024 split
In April 2024 the family announced an ownership realignment. Adi and Nadir kept the five listed companies, while Smita and Jamshyd took Godrej & Boyce, its affiliates and the land bank, now organised as Godrej Enterprises Group 4. Business Today reported that Smita held a stake in Godrej & Boyce, the company that owns most of the Vikhroli land 4.
Her role today
She is not listed among Godrej & Boyce's directors 6. Her influence runs through her shareholding and through her daughters, both of whom sit on the board 6.