Prateik Babbar & Priya Banerjee Address Babbar Family’s Absence at Their Wedding: ‘Everyone Who Mattered Was

Prateik Babbar and Priya Banerjee tied the knot on Valentine’s Day in an intimate ceremony. The wedding took place at Prateik’s late mother Smita Patil’s house in Bandra, Mumbai. The couple kept the affair private, celebrating with close family and friends. However, the absence of Prateik’s father, veteran actor-politician Raj Babbar, and his half-siblings, Aarya and Juhi Babbar, led to much speculation.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Priya Banerjee dismissed the rumours that important family members were missing. She said, "There was absolutely no family member who was missing from the wedding or our celebrations. I don't know why there are rumours that ‘family members’ were absent. Our families were there, including my parents, his aunts who raised him, his nana-nani, and everyone who mattered and is family was with us. And there was absolutely nobody who is family was missing."

Prateik and Priya had been together for nearly five years before their wedding. Priya shared how marriage did not feel different, as they had already been living together. "Honestly, being married to Prateik and being married didn't feel any different. We had been together for a very long time. More than that, I felt like I had known him forever. It felt the same," she said.

Prateik, on the other hand, had a more philosophical take on their bond. He expressed, "It felt like I was doing this for the thousandth time. This was like another lifetime, another universe. I felt like I married her in every lifetime and every universe, and this was another one… and there were many more to go."

Aarya Babbar, however, expressed disappointment over being excluded. Speaking to ETimes, he said, "Nobody from the Babbar family was invited—not even my father." He further hinted at external influence, saying, "I presume someone has overpowered his brain too much. He is not wanting to connect with anyone from this side of the family."

After the wedding, Aarya criticized Prateik’s decision, calling it disrespectful to Smita Patil. In an interview with Hindustan Times, he stated, "I will give him the benefit of the doubt. He didn't want to invite me or my sister Juuhi (Babbar), okay. But at least he should have invited that person who Smita maa had loved, his father. Yeh cheez disrespect hai towards Smita maa."