Fresh Start

The film,directed by debutant Manish Tiwary,has been awaiting a release for over a year. “It came four years ago. I was taken in by the nuances to the character,which go beyond Shakespeare’s original,” he explains. While the story has been retained,the setting has been altered to that of two warring gangster families of Banaras,with a parallel Naxalite track. “I play the character of a playboy and a killing machine. Yet,there lurks in him the pain of having turned to guns at an early age; it builds in him as anger,which is released when he falls in love with the daughter of his enemy.”

While the role needed Prateik to familiarise himself with the mannerisms,language and diction typical of people from north India,the character demanded that Prateik tap into his own angst. “I was a very angry child because of the issues at home,” he says,referring to the controversies surrounding his parents,Smita Patil and Raj Babbar,“Manish managed to bring out that angst within me and I could lend it to my character,” he adds. Now,he is better equipped to understand the complicated relationship shared by his parents.

Prateik’s love for acting is visible in the way he incessantly talks about the films he has worked on and would like to. He admits that his exposure while growing up was limited to mainstream Hollywood and Bollywood films until Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na came his way seven years ago. “I was training with adman Prahlad Kakkar,who liked my goofyness and cast me,giving me my first exposure in front of the camera. He also pushed me to audition for Jaane Tu… The film changed my perception of cinema and opened doors to what the medium can achieve,” he recounts.

However,entering the film industry without any prior understanding of its functioning or people soon had him disillusioned. While Kiran Rao’s Dhobi Ghat won him complements,other films,such as Dum Maaro Dum,My Friend Pinto and Ekk Deewana Tha,didn’t work. “On one hand are people like Aamir (Khan) and Kiran who continue to guide me whenever I need them. On the other are those who pretend to be well-wishers,” he says. At present,Prateik — who is working on a suspense thriller titled Rum Pum Posh — feels better equipped to handle his career. “I only sleep and eat my meals at home,” he says.