Prateik Babbar Was Supposed To Debut With Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Film? The Actor Reveals “I Was Too Young…”(Pic Credit: Instagram/_prat, Wikipedia)
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Veteran actors Raj Babbar and Smita Patil’s son Prateik Babbar made his Bollywood debut with the 2007 film Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. Although he played a supporting role, he was noticed and received a lot of film offers. One of them was from celebrated filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Scroll down to know more.
Prateik is well known for appearing in films like Dum Maaro Dum, Aarakshan, Dhobi Ghat, Baaghi 2, and Chhichhore. His performance was widely appreciated and has received accolades such as a Filmfare Award and a Stardust Award.
Prateik Babbar recently appeared in a new episode of Mashable’s The Bombay Journey wherein he revealed how director Sanjay Leela Bhansali wanted to cast him in his 2007 romantic drama Saawariya. However, that did not happen as the actor was in rehab at that point in time and missed out on the opportunity.
The actor said, “Actually I have a funny story. Mr Sanjay Leela Bhansali was calling my house when I was 18 years old, when I was in rehab, for Saawariya. I was too young, I was in rehab so it couldn’t have worked out. But my grandparents told me a few years later.”
Even after missing out on the opportunity, Prateik Babbar clarified that it did not pinch him as did not want to be an actor at that time. He said, “I never wanted to be an actor. I just stumbled into it and it became my calling. Since both my folks were actors – and good actors. I wanted to be a rockstar at that time, far away from the world of acting. I wanted to grow my hair, wear eye make-up, face make-up and scream on stage. Before that, I wanted to be a cricketer.”
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Saawariya later became a debut film for Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor. The film also starred Rani Mukerji and featured Salman Khan in a cameo. However, the film was not well received critically and did moderate business at the box office.
