Prateik reminds Saif of himself

Prateik, the youngest actor on the sets of Prakash Jha's Aarakshan, was pampered as well as mentored by Saif Ali Khan throughout the shoot.

On a two-month shooting schedule in Bhopal, Prateik was working with some of Bollywood's biggest names — Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Saif Ali Khan and Jha. However, Saif made sure that Prateik felt comfortable.

The actor-producer helped him out with dialogue rehearsals, especially in scenes where there were hundreds of extras.

"Prateik is a really sweet guy and fun to work with. He reminds me of my Parampara (1993) days. He's probably better than what I was. I completely know what he's going through", said Saif, who also got along well with Prateik, who was last seen in Dum Maaro Dum, when they were not shooting.

Bonding time
The two actors spent time going to the gym together as well. Prateik would often enter Saif's vanity van with his usual "intruder alert" greeting. "Saif was like my mentor on the film set," said Prateik. "I remember how much he tried to make me feel comfortable during a scene that we shot in a college canteen on the first few days. I've learnt a lot from him. He is a gem of a person."