Bollywood actor Prateik Babbar who is the son of veteran actor Raj Babbar has decided to change his name. His decision was made to honor his late mother and Bollywood's class actress Smita Patil. Prateik will be now known as Prateik Patil Babbar and has expressed that is how he wants his name in film credits. The new name is already reflected on his Instagram handle. For the unversed, Smita Patil died in 1986 due to complications in childbirth, weeks after Prateik was born.
Talking about his decision to change the name, DNA quoted Prateik revealing the reason in a statement, “With the blessings of my father and my entire family, my late maternal grandparents and my late mother, I have decided to add my mother's last name as my middle name, giving birth to my new screen name ‘Prateik Patil Babbar’.”He called his decision 'part superstitious, part sentimental’ and added, "When my name appears in film credits or anywhere for that matter, I want it to be a reminder to myself, the people, & the audience of her extraordinary & remarkable legacy, of my legacy. A reminder of her brilliance & greatness.”
“My mother will be a part of each and every endeavour I put my energies into, not that she wasn’t a part before. But having her last name as part of my name just solidifies the sentiment. It’ll be 37 years this year since she left us, gone but not forgotten. I will make sure she is never forgotten. Smita Patil will live on through my name.. quite literally,” the actor also said.
Smita Patil is widely regarded as one of the finest actresses in Indian cinema history. In a brief career, she won several awards and was applauded for a wide variety of roles, leaving her mark in Mirch Masala, Mandi, and Arth, as well as being part of commercial hits like Namak Halal. She died in 1986 at the age of 31. On the work front, Prateik made his screen debut with the 2008 film Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na, starring Imran Khan and Genelia D'Souza. He was last seen in Madhur Bhandarkar's India Lockdown.
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