He’s about seven films old in the Hindi film industry, is constantly being watched microscopically, his every move interpreted, criticised, his acting dissected. It’s not easy, I guess, being the son of actors Smita Patil and Raj Babbar.
But getting noticed, Prateik Babbar definitely is.
It’s not a cosy arrangement being a second or third generation actor in Hindi films, whether you have your folks launching you or not. Act well, you must. What really is the challenge for Prateik, one wonders — trying to be similar to his parents, or different. “For me it’s not been about being similar. But it’s about keeping the respect for the name that my mother and father have earned. My career choices don’t have to be like what they took. But I think, fortunately or unfortunately, if you are born to successful parents, you want to work hard and make a name for yourself.”
Even as he speaks sitting on a lone chair in a black holding room behind a stage, Prateik looks vulnerable. He speaks in a hushed tone, looking at floor, mumbling in a low voice, almost brooding. But just before that, while at a public event, he’s all smiles, charisma, and presence. Prateik was in Bangalore for the worldwide launch of Bosch Power Tools’ high pressure washers. Looking all lean and mean in his grey overalls, Prateik even tried his hand at washing dirt and grime off a JCB machine. He spoke of how he used to wash his cousins’ cars in the USA with power washers. “I think it’s a manly thing to do…fixing things in the house and washing your own car.”
He sports a rather large star-spangled tattoo on the inside of left arm for his lady love and co-star of Ekk Deewana Tha , Amy Jackson. “It’s meri pyaar ki nishani,” he says with a broad grin. The tattoo reads “Mera Pyaar Meri Amy”.
“It’s my second time in Bangalore. I was here once as a kid because my mom’s best friend lived here and her husband had a small race car and I remember being taken for a drive and playing around in it…” When he speaks into the mike, the voice reminds you of Raj Babbar’s husky breathless timbre, but the father’s strong nasal twang is not there (or is it just my imagination?).
The constant reference to his parents seems inevitable. Does he worry about his individual identity? “I’m not worried about that because I’m too involved in reading scripts, finding characters I like – that’s the only identity I’m familiar with.” The kind of films coming his way have surprisingly been rather unconventional. He chose a rather strange film to debut in 2008 — Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na , where he played the heroine’s brother. Everyone who watched the film was curious to know what Smita Patil’s son looked like, I remember. Did he really want to start off with a film like that? “I didn’t want things to be any kind of way. I don’t consider it a debut. I just liked the role and did it,” he says matter-of-factly, rarely taking his large eyes off the floor.
What really made people sit up and take notice of his acting chops was Kiran Rao’s Dhobi Ghat. The Munna he played melted many a heart. Prateik too derived a lot from the movie. “It gave me a lot of self satisfaction and made me believe in myself. I got a standing ovation at the Toronto Film Festival. It was the most magical moment of my life. People from outside my country were up on their feet for me. I didn’t know what I’d done to deserve that kind of appreciation.”
After Aarakshan and Dum Maaro Dum he’ll now be seen in Issaq , a Romeo and Juliet set in contemporary Benares. It’s raw, gritty and tragic, is all he’ll say. “My attempt as an actor is not to be typecast in any particular genre. For my satisfaction, I want to explore every genre, be it action or romance.” It’s obvious he’s experimenting. If you caught him yesterday on TV, you would have seen him on MTV’s pilot episode of the series Rush , based on a story that unwinds at a college festival, and directed by Bejoy Nambiar (director of Shaitaan ).
His mom being the iconic actor she was, one wonders what sort of an impact her films have had on Prateik. Smita died two weeks after giving birth to him. “I’ve seen all her films and have been influenced by them. It’s a very emotional process for me, watching her films…to watch someone I’ve never spoken to, or remember having seen. It’s a difficult process but I do study her as an actress and performer, and try to understand her as a person off-screen…” he trails off.
And his father’s films? “My dad was and is my hero…he always will be. It’s a cliché for every boy to say my dad’s my hero,” says Prateik and you can’t really tell what he means.
