‘I developed a hate for my mother Smita Patil, father Raj Babbar,’ says Prateik Babbar: ‘I wondered do I even love them, do I want to be their son?’

Smita Patil's son Prateik Babbar opened up about his complicated feelings for his late mother.

New Delhi | May 6, 2025 09:53 PM IST

3 min read

Prateik Babbar is the son of Smita Patil and Raj Babbar. (Photo: Express Archives)

Late actor Smita Patil’s son Prateik Babbar has been very open about his struggles with addiction and in a recent conversation, Prateik shared that at one point in his life he hated his mother, and his father, actor Raj Babbar. Smita died in childbirth and Prateik grew up with his maternal grandparents, and reconnected with his father much later in life. Prateik said that the constant comparison with his mother in his early years in the movies did not bother him much because he hadn’t accepted himself as her son. “I was still battling with my own identity,” he said.

Prateik said that now he has embraced being Smita’s son but back then, it was quite difficult for him. He shared with Bollywood Bubble, “I developed a hate for her, and my father, for both my parents. Being unavailable and growing up, everything just felt different — people started treating me differently, offering pity love. It was just different and because of that, I started hating them. I didn’t want to be associated with them. So, as much as people were comparing me to her, I was like ‘let it be, it doesn’t bother me. It doesn’t affect me. I don’t care.’ It was more like ‘let people say what they have to say.'”

Prateik Babbar shared that since he did not spend any time with his mother, he battled with his feelings towards her. “I was fighting this battle of ‘Do I love her? Do I love them? Do I want to be their son?’ It just didn’t affect me.” He then explained his comment of hating his parents and said that at a certain age, “rebellion can turn into hate.” He added, “It’s very easy to hate your parents when you come from a space of trauma, when you know something wasn’t right.”

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When asked about his relationship with his father, and if he ever discussed these feelings with him, Prateik said that even though they have made amends, he could never have open conversations with him. “I couldn’t. I never shared that relationship with him. Even though we have made amends, we have tried to form a bond. I couldn’t have those conversations with him and it’s okay. It’s just the nature of the situation,” he said.

Prateik Babbar recently tied the knot but did not invite his father Raj Babbar for the ceremony.

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