Prateik Babbar Talks About His Late Mother Smita Patil

Prateik Babbar's Mom, legendary actress Smita Patil died from childbirth complications on 13th December 1986, barely two weeks after having given birth to Prateik. She was 31 years when she died. Below is a video of Prateek Babbar talking about his late mom.



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Prateik Babbar Lands in Jail

Smita Patil's untimely death killed Madhur Bhandarkar's dream of casting the actress in his film. Seeing Smita's son Prateik Babbar recently in a small role in Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na, had Bhandarkar so emotionally charged that he has decided to cast Prateik in his film. And though Bhandarkar is tight-lipped about which film Prateik will star in, the word is that Prateik will be playing one of the protagonists in Bhandarkar's upcoming, Jail.




Raj Babbar, Prateik's father had thrown a fit when Prateik had decided to venture into the film industry. But this time around Raj won't mind. Says Bhandarkar confidently, "Rajji was a part my film Corporate and in Fashion he's playing Priyanka Chopra's father. So I don't think he will have any objection to Prateik working with me."

Prateik's grandparents, who have brought up the boy, too are keen on Prateik working with Bhandarkar. "His grandmother called me up about six months ago. I will be more than happy to cast the boy. I always wished I could work with Smita. So in a way I would be fulfilling a dream. Smitaji nahin, toh unka beta hi sahi," adds Bhandarkar.

Smita Patil's Son Prateik Was Impressive in Jaane Tu: Amitabh

The latest post in Amitabh Bachchan's blog is quite touching, as he reminices about his one-time co-star Smita Patil.

Bachchan, who watched Aamir Khan's new production, said that he loved the film, especially Prateik Babbar's cameo in the film.

Prateik, the son of Smita Patil and Raj Babbar, made Bachchan nostalgic and took him down memory lane.

'Prateik, Smita Patil's son was so impressive in a small but significant role,' Bachchan wrote in his blog. "His face is so much like his mother's. It brought back all our memories of working together in Shakti and Namak Halal and all her fears of working in commercial escapist cinema.'

Bachchan remembers how Smita Patil would drop in at his home, as she stayed nearby. Her intuitions always proved right. Once, she called him in the middle of the night to inquire about him, just a few days before he was seriously injured on the sets of Coolie.

'I was in Bangalore shooting for the film and in the middle of the night, I got a call from her,' Bachchan writes. 'It was a bit surprising for me. She and I were not on telephone call terms. It was the first time I was receiving her phone and what she asked turned out to be true. She said she was worried for me and wanted to know if all was well for she had had a premonition that something wrong or dangerous was going to happen to me. I had joked about it with her. But 2 days later the accident on the set happened.

'She herself was a soft gentle and delicate human, full of compassion for others,' he adds. 'Her death came suddenly and too too early. We needed her to be with us much longer. On seeing Prateik on screen tonight, everything came back... except Smita!'

Source: Rediff
Date: July 04, 2008

Smita Patil and Raj Babbar’s son Prateik Babbar

Not just another star son!
Smita Patil and Raj Babbar’s son Prateik makes a quiet debut

The late actress Smita Patil and Raj Babbar’s son Prateik Babbar makes his B-Town debut in Abbas Tyrewala’s Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na, produced by Aamir Khan.

Very chotu role
The star son is, however, missing from the film’s posters and promos. “That’s because I have an extremely small role,” points out Prateik.

He has no reservations about making his debut in such a manner. “I am 21 and when the time is ripe, I will act. At this age, the girls can make an entry but the guys have to wait for a while. This bit of acting is like testing the waters before the dive.”

Heroine ka bhai
In Jaane Tu…, Prateik plays the character of Genelia D’Silva’s brother. “I am there in a few scenes trying to solve her problems. My character is called Amit and he is a painter. I try to figure out if the guy she is with is right for her or not.”

Thanks to Pakhi
The film came his way through Abbas’s wife Pakhi, who is also the casting director of Jaane Tu… “She called me for the role and after auditioning, I was cast as the heroine ka bhai!” he laughs.

Currently, Prateik is undergoing an acting workshop with half-sister Juhi Babbar and her mother Nadira Zaheer Babbar of Ekjute troupe. “All this while, I would just hang around at their workshops but this time I have enrolled as a student. I hope to hone the craft now.”

He has also learnt salsa from Sandeep Soparrkar. “At this stage of my life I am just learning and absorbing whatever I can and yes I am looking at acting and completing my education as well.”

With both his half sister Juhi and half brother, Arya Babbar, also into acting there are lots of notes to be exchanged on the home front as well.

Smita Patil (1955-1986) is remembered for both her arthouse films like Bhumika, Bazaar, Manthan, Chakra and Ardh Satya as well as for commercial potboilers like Shakti and Namak Halal. She straddled both the worlds of cinema with aplomb in the ’70s and’80s. She was as favoured by a Mrinal Sen as she was by a B R Chopra.

She began as a TV news reader on DD and was discovered by Shyam Benegal. Smita was also a women’s rights activist and became famous for her roles in films that portrayed women as capable and empowered.

She was caught in a media storm when she wed the much-married actor Raj Babbar from whom she had a son, Prateik. However tragedy struck within days of the delivery as Smita died as a result of childbirth complications on December 13, 1986.

Source: Mid-day
Author: Shaheen Parkar
Date: 17 Jun 2008