Tuesday, May 22, 2012 5:29 PM IST
Prateik, actor
Last Updated : 12 Feb 2012 01:16:28 PM IST
Prateik (PTI Photo).
At his Bandra home, Prateik Babbar is a picture of impatience. He paces up and down his living room and seems to be looking for something. He’s just back from an intense session of workout. His late mother Smita Patil’s pictures are put up on the walls, directly parallel to works of abstract art hand-picked by his aunt, Manya. Prateik’s guitar is stashed away near the sofa.This is a different Prateik from the one we saw in 'Jaane Tu.. Ya Jaane Na'—he is, by self-admission, a “very confident” man. Some of this new-found confidence comes from what Amitabh Bachchan, his co-star in 'Aarakshan' told him, patting on his back, “This boy doesn’t need to act in front of the camera. He is himself.” It was a compliment Prateik cherishes the most. “Coming from Mr Bachchan, it means everything,” he smiles.The five-film-old actor, born to actors Smita Patil and Raj Babbar, is here for a long haul. His new title, 'Ekk Deewana Tha' is the kind of film he has been longing to do for a while now. “It is a totally Bollywood film, in which I play a hero who is dancing, singing and very much in love. It is a young film and about young people,” says Prateik.What about co-star Amy Jackson who he’s apparently dating?Flushed, he says, “I have a crush on her. Beyond that, there is nothing between us.”The potboiler that 'Ekk Deewana Tha' is, it comes to Prateik after cutting his teeth in unconventional set-ups like 'Dhobi Ghat' or 'My Friend Pinto'. He regrets that 'My Friend Pinto' didn’t do as well as expected. “We worked very hard. It was an innocent film with lots of music, but something went wrong and I don’t know what,” he says, speculatively.For a young actor like Prateik, a flop here or there shouldn’t mean the end of the road, but he feels this is a competitive industry where you are as good as your last film. “You have to keep pace with the world, but it is important to do what you believe in. For me, the script and my role is supreme. If I am convinced about it, I go ahead. If I am not, I politely say no. There’s no point in doing a film just for the sake of money or something. It’s about how good that film is going to be.”It’s interesting that at first Prateik was wary of the movies and instead, was dreaming lofty dreams of being a cricketer. “I was good in sports and I was always doing sporty things as a kid,” he says, adding, “I was playing cricket and seriously considered becoming a cricketer. I don’t know what happened to that plan — it just went out of the window.”Now that Prateik is in films, something he never imagined, he says he is working hard to reach some place. His effort and focus is do good films and become a good actor. In the past few films, he has been criticised for his poor command of Hindi and his dialogue delivery. He’s currently working on his diction, he says. His way of dealing with criticism is rather simple: “I learn from honest and constructive criticism. I learn from my own mistakes, too.”As an afterthought, he adds, “Yeah, there are times when it hurts to hear that you were not good in that particular film, but I guess you have to move on and look for better things in life.” He also learns from films of his peers and seniors. “I learn from other people’s work. I watch films and see what I can pick from here, what I can learn from there. It’s a part of the learning process.”In this age of punishing schedules and multi-city promotional tours, Prateik is that rare actor who keeps away from the media to which, he says, “I communicate when there is a need, but I do realise that you have to reach out as an actor. That’s something I would like to do more often,” he promises.
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