Prateik Smita Patil on dropping Babbar from surname, not inviting father Raj Babbar to his wedding: ‘I want to be like my mother, not my dad’
What was supposed to be a day to remember, or in some cases, days to remember, the wedding of Prateik Smita Patil with Priya Banerjee faced quite a few adverse challenges that could have tampered with that core memory. Since Prateik's father and actor-politician Raj Babbar wasn't invited to the intimate wedding in Goa, there were multiple opinions for and against this decision. Prateik's step-brother Aarya Babbar was vocal about his displeasure over the snub to his father and his family.
While some called Prateik out for snubbing his own father, some others were receptive to the idea that it was his decision to make, and it must have been made with a lot of thought. In a recent interview with Times of India after their wedding, Prateik and Priya opened up about the reasoning behind the decision, and dealing with the can of worms it opened. When asked if they let the cacophony around the wedding affect them, Priya said, "We were unfazed. My family was here from Canada. I had my closest friends. He had his aunts, who raised him apart from his grandparents. Everybody who we loved were there. So, whatever happened, we honestly don't have any comments because it didn't matter."
Labelling these opinions as completely unnecessary, Prateik simply said that nothing mattered at all because he was just happy. Priya revealed that this indeed had the potential to tarnish the memory of their marriage, but thanks to 'guardian angels' around them, nothing else mattered but the wedding. Reiterating her stance that nothing mattered, Priya pointed out that everything was there out in the open, and it isn't their place to talk about what transpired. "Let people go back in the past, and read old articles to understand what happened in someone's life. If Prateik and I choose to stay quiet, it is actually out of respect and dignity."
In fact, throughout the interview, whenever Prateik was asked about the equation with his father and his family, it was Priya who chimed in to swerve the conversation away from this topic. "That family was never there. That person was never there in his life. So, I'm not sure why that question is coming up now," said Priya, who pointed out that some get limelight from talking about others, and they don't want to put themselves there. "We have to live our life. Nobody pays our bills."
Prateik said that there will come a time to talk about all this, but now is certainly not it. However, Priya minced no words in calling out people who were blaming Prateik for the controversy surrounding their wedding. "Not a lot of people would understand what a kid goes through when they lose their mom at first, right?" asked Priya, who called out all the trolls and critics for their scathing comments on Prateik and even her. "He has nothing to hide. He's never hidden anything, be it his past or present," said Priya, who was validated by Prateik reiterating that he would speak when the time is right, and it will clear the air for him and 'that family.'
Priya also spoke about Aarya's insinuation that she was the reason behind the decision to snub their family. Even though she felt completely unbothered, Priya said that it is common for a woman to bear the brunt of the blame whenever something goes down. However, Prateik expressed his displeasure over this blame game, and said, "It did bother me. It was really riling me up."
Prateik also opened up about the reasoning behind dropping the 'Babbar' surname and calling himself as Prateik Smita Patil. Shunting out opinions on how it would affect his persona or career, Prateik simply said that he was doing what would make him feel better, and smile wider. "I don't care about the repercussions. All I care about is the way I feel when I hear that name. I need to be wholly and solely associated with my mother, her name, and her legacy. I'm striving to be like my mother and not like my dad."
On the film front, Prateik, who was last seen in the Netflix film, Dhoom Dhaam, is awaiting the release of his upcoming film, Sikandar, headlined by Salman Khan, and directed by AR Murugadoss.
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