Prateik Babbar reveals what made him come out of ‘self-destructive’ mode: ‘Wanted to do justice to my mother Smita Patil’s legacy’

Prateik Babbar, who is looking forward to the release of India Lockdown, shared what motivated him to come out of the 'self-destructive' phase in life. He had earlier spoken his struggle with substance abuse.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | November 23, 2022 04:57 PM IST

3 min read

Prateik Babbar will be next seen in India Lockdown. (Photo: Prateik Babbar/Instagram)

Actor Prateik Babbar, son of actor-politician Raj Babbar and the late actor Smita Patil, dealt with substance abuse in 2013. His first run-in with drugs was when he was just 13. He had earlier claimed that he took to drugs because he had a “disturbed childhood” and drugs were a “glitzy escape” for him. However, the actor overcame his addiction and has been quite vocal about it. Recently, the actor shared what motivated him to come out of the ‘self-destructive’ phase in life.

In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, while promoting his film India Lockdown, Prateik shared how he started missing the world of cinema while he was dealing with drug addiction. It was his love for acting and his wish to do justice to his mother Smita Patil’s legacy that made him start working towards ‘Prateik 2.0’.

Also read | Prateik Babbar says he is ‘familiar with pain’ as he dealt with it at a young age: ‘I am a very emotional person..’

“Iss duniya ko maine bohot miss kiya, I missed the industry and acting. I felt I was letting down people who love me. My naani (maternal grandmother) died at the time and I was left alone, so I needed something to latch on to. At that time itself, I decided I want to get back to it (acting),” actor shared.

He further added, “I wanted to do justice to my mother, her line of work and the person she was. That is my purpose, to do justice to her legacy and the artist she was.”

Prateik lost his mother within two weeks of his birth. Patil passed away at the age of 31 due to childbirth-related complications.

The actor had earlier spoken at length about his battle with drug abuse. “My struggle with drugs started before high school. Sports and music were constructive escapes for a while, but, they could only suffice for so long. My first real drug was a disturbed childhood. Constantly faced with internal dilemma, the voices in my head debating where I belong and who I am, drugs came disguised as a glitzy escape. As years went by, I got acquainted with the narcotic underbelly, which led me to my first run-in with drugs at the age of 13,” Prateik had said in a bare-all post in Mid-Day.

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