Prateik Babbar is unusually quiet for a newcomer. No nervous energy, no big promises or quotable quotes. “I want only my acting to be noticed,” says the new boy on the block over phone, minutes before the premiere of “Dhobi Ghat” in Mumbai. The industry pundits are saying he could be next big thing but Prateik says he has no ‘starry' ambitions as of now and doesn't want to have an opinion on everything under the sun. “I feel to become a star you have to be an actor first. Looking good doesn't matter unless you are a model. It all boils down to your passion for the art,” says the young actor, who started his career assisting adman Prahlad Kakkar.
Noticed by Kiran Rao in her home production “Jaane Tu…Yaa Jaane Na”, where he played the role of Genelia's quiet brother, Prateik got Munna's character by rebound. “Initially, she was looking for an absolute newcomer but I was always in the fray.” She asked him to audition and liked his clean-shaven look and his command over the language. “When I decided to become an actor, I undertook extensive voice training in both Hindi diction and pitch.” Indeed, he sounds a bit too low-pitched for a Bollywood actor. “It all depends on the character.” He points out that in his next film “Dum Maaro Dum”, which is an out and out commercial thriller, he will sound different.
“The point is I want to keep it as real as possible.” He is expected to, after all he is the son of Smita Patil and Raj Babbar. “My father is proud of the choices I have made in films and is taking keen interest in my career.” And how does he remember his mother? “When I was growing up I somehow didn't like watching her films. Perhaps I didn't know the importance of those films. I was always aware that she was someone who was admired and loved but now I am discovering her as an actor by watching her films. When she is in the frame, you don't feel like looking at anything else.”
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He spent more than two weeks at the crowded Dhobi Ghat in Mahalaxmi in Mumbai to get the feel of a washer boy's character. Prateik says spending time at the real location helped in getting through the shoot quickly because we couldn't expect them to stop their work for long.
“I noticed their mannerisms and the hectic schedule they have. This ghat is one of the biggest centres of washing clothes and hundreds of lives are dependent on it. A dhobi starts his day at 5 or 6 in the morning and the work goes up to 1 or 2 in the night with usually two breaks in between. Munna is one of the washer boys, who thinks he looks good and wants to become an actor. His life changes when he meets this girl Shai (Monica Dogra) while doing his job.” Does he wash his clothes? “Yes, I do when it is necessary!”
Though Munna is the author-backed roles, the presence of Aamir Khan must be intimidating? “It was, but it pushed me to raise my concentration level and when your heart is into the character, nothing can distract.”
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After “Dhobi Ghat”, Prateik is focusing on Prakash Jha's “Aarakshan”.