Actor Prateik Babbar has made a slight change to his screen name to pay tribute to his late mother, actor Smita Patil. He will now be known as Prateik Patil Babbar and this is already reflected on his Instagram page.
According to DNA, Prateik in a statement said, ‘With the blessings of my father and my entire family, my late maternal grandparents and my late mother, I have decided to add my mother's last name as my middle name, giving birth to my new screen name ‘Prateik Patil Babbar’.’
Calling his decision 'part superstitious, part sentimental’, he added, ‘When my name appears in film credits or anywhere for that matter, I want it to be a reminder to myself, the people, & the audience of her extraordinary & remarkable legacy, of my legacy. A reminder of her brilliance & greatness.’
‘My mother will be a part of each and every endeavour I put my energies into, not that she wasn’t a part before. But having her last name as part of my name just solidifies the sentiment. It’ll be 37 years this year since she left us, gone but not forgotten. I will make sure she is never forgotten. Smita Patil will live on through my name.. quite literally,’ the actor said.
Prateik, son of Smita and actor Raj Babbar, made his screen debut with the 2008 film ‘Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na’, starring Imran Khan and Genelia D'Souza. He was last seen in Madhur Bhandarkar's ‘India Lockdown’.
Smita Patil died in 1986 weeks after Prateik was born, due to complications in childbirth. Prateik was raised by his maternal grandparents in Mumbai.
Raj Babbar married Nadira Babbar. Arya Babbar and Juhi Babbar are Prateik's half-siblings.
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