It’s not clear whether the mystery shrouding Prateik is a carefully cultivated PR stunt. For, in an age where it’s often a case of out of sight, out of mind, it’s baffling why a young, talented actor would want to elude the limelight.
Right from his debut in ‘Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na’ (2008), the 25-year-old son of the late Smita Patil and Raj Babbar (last week, he officially dropped the ‘Babbar’ from his name) has determinedly dodged the media, avoiding any form of self-promotion. In fact, he has displayed an aversion to one-on-one, telephonic or email interviews, often excusing himself from road shows related to his films.
This was the case during the release of ‘Dhobi Ghat’, ‘Dum Maro Dum’ and ‘Aarakshan’. Undeterred, the media chased him, with a persistent few going to the extent of interviewing his maternal grandmother (with whom he is said to be very close) and half brother, Arya Babbar, to get a better picture of the actor. But it looks like Prateik’s days of silence have come to an end, all thanks to the actor’s first solo hero film, ‘My Friend Pinto’.
It is produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, co-stars Kalki Koechlin, and is scheduled to release on October 14. But I get a stern warning from the PR not to ask any questions pertaining to his “dad”, “mom” or “immediate family” as Prateik will get “prickly answering them”. Fair enough, as long the man is prepared to talk about his films (sigh!).
After the long wait
I begin by telling him about my year-long quest to hunt him down and how he has always managed to evade me at the last minute. This piece of news is met with complete silence from the actor. Phew, not a great start. I move on to ‘My Friend Pinto’ instead. “It’s my first solo hero project and I am pretty much carrying the film on my shoulders. I play this guy Pinto, who is a budding musician,” the actor near mumbles. “He is clumsy, fun-loving, hails from a small town and comes to Mumbai in search of his childhood buddy. The story is about one night and how he lands up in the most unlikely while for Prateik to warm up to me but after that we really bonded and he is a sweet guy and a bit shy. What impressed me about him is that he is very focussed. He is a total urban chap and he took pains to transform himself into the character of Pinto, who is a villager, right from his body language to his talk.”
In the name of love
The actor is more than willing to discuss his next project as well – ‘Ek Deewana Tha’ – a remake of the Tamil ‘Vinnaithandi Varuvaya’, with director Gautam Menon making his debut in Bollywood. Though his is a romantic character, it’s again avant-garde, un-Bollywood and characteristic of the kind of roles Prateik chooses. “Most importantly, it’s my first love story. It’s a beautiful concept, a true story and so believable. I saw no reason why I shouldn’t do it. It’s been tweaked a bit for the Northern audience. Though Gautam is known to be a hard taskmaster, I found him easy to work with,” he confides, adding that the title is in fact the first line of one of his favourite songs from a Rishi Kapoor movie. We continue our stilted conversation – the actor is not much of a talker, as for the most part he mumbles, replies in monosyllables and takes his own sweet time answering questions (almost like ‘The Fountainhead’s Howard Roark).
It’s as if his off screen persona is just an extension of all the offbeat roles he’s essayed on screen. Be it the moody brother in his first film, the young dreamer in ‘Dhobi Ghat’ or the silent drug peddler in ‘Dum Maro Dum’, they’re not really detached from Prateik, the unlikely star son.
A happy discovery
Though a few films old, Prateik seems to be the first choice for most new-age directors. “It’s not something I have consciously built. I am open to doing all kinds of roles but at the end of the day, it should challenge the actor in me,” he says, admitting that he idolises Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan. He was just 19 when he made his acting debut. Was he fully equipped to face Bollywood then?
After a long uncomfortable pause, he replies, “Frankly speaking, I had no idea where I was getting at. It was just pure chance that I entered films. Till then, I was assisting ad guru Prahlad Kakkar. Now I am taking every step seriously.”
Is he game for the song-dance routine and hardcore action? “I don’t know why I shouldn’t be like anybody else. For me, what matters is the content. I am all for doing a typical Bollywood pot-boiler as long as the script is good.”
So what kind of homework goes into a role?
“Some element of spontaneity is necessary as an actor but at the same time, you need to do your bit of preparation as well.”
Beneath the surface
Incidentally, Prateik is known to do his bit for charity. Last week, he drove autos in Mumbai for a cause and introduced himself as Pinto the auto driver. Not just that, he raised a decent amount of money by auctioning the guitar he uses in ‘My Friend Pinto’.
Then, of course, there are those rumours and link ups. It’s been said that unit members weren’t too pleased with his arrogant and brash behaviour on the sets of ‘Ek Deewana Tha’.
But Prakash Jha, who directed him in ‘Aarakshan’, begs to differ, “His silent , loner image is all nonsense. He was such a prankster on the sets and gelled with all the actors. I think he is one of the few gifted actors we have today and he is so uninhibited in front of the camera. He is extremely sincere and very concerned about his performance and keeps asking me for reassurance.”
I ask Prateik about his rumoured affair with the film’s co-star, Amy Jackson. “I don’t usually take such talk seriously. I don’t think I need to explain my personal life to the media anyway. These link-ups are so amusing,” laughs the actor.
His role in MFP possibly borrows a bit from his real character. Like Pinto, Prateik is a music fanatic who dreams of having a band one day and loves Guns N’ Roses and death metal, though he claims he “can’t sing to save (his) life.” He is equally disciplined about his workouts as that’s his idea of “having a good time.” And, of course, there are the movies, from world cinema to regional fare, a reason to smile for the young actor. As for the constant comparison with his mother, Prakash Jha sums it up best – “True, there is a shadow of Smita in him, especially his looks, but he is totally different. Smita was an actor, he is a natural.”