Prateik Babbar

Prateik (born 28 November 1986 as Prateik Babbar) is an Indian actor. The son of late actress Smita Patil and Raj Babbar, he began his career as a production assistant before pursuing an acting career. Prior to his screen debut, Babbar appeared in television advertisements for a variety of products, including Nestle KitKat, on the recommendation of the filmmaker Prahlad Kakkar. Since his debut in Bollywood, Babbar has received such accolades as a Filmfare Award and a Stardust Award. Babbar made his screen debut with the 2008 coming of age drama Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na, and was praised for his performance in the film. He garnered nominations at various award ceremonies including the Filmfares, Screen Awards, and the Stardust Awards for best debut, winning the last of the three. Babbar played a variety of roles in 2011, appearing in commercially viable projects such as the crime thriller Dum Maro Dum and the political drama Aarakshan, while drawing the attention of critics for his performances in independent films, including the drama Dhobi Ghat and the romantic comedy My Friend Pinto. Following a battle with substance abuse in 2013, a problem that Babbar had struggled with in the past as well, he went through rehab and counselling and has managed to stay sober since. He attended acting school taking up a course in method acting at the Jeff Goldberg Studio in 2016. He made a comeback with the comedy drama Umrika, which opened at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival to positive response.