Prateik Babbar Talks About His Regrets, Reveals Losing Lead Role In 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' To Farhan Akhtar

In an interview, Prateik Babbar spoke the lowest phase of his life. The actor recalled losing the lead role in ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ to Farhan Akhtar.

Outlook Entertainment Desk

Updated on: 15 December 2023 12:22 pm

Prateik Patil Babbar

Born into a family that has been a signficant part of?the film industry, with actor parents Smita Patil and Raj Babbar, Prateik Babbar initially began his journey as a production assistant before stepping into acting with his debut in 'Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na'?in 2008. Despite being born into the industry, he faced setbacks due to certain decisions, missing out on multiple projects, notably 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.'

In an interview with The Times Of India,?Prateik Babbar?disclosed that he had been "locked"?to take on the lead role in the biographical sports drama based on the life of athlete Milkha Singh. However,?things didn't go his way.?

He recalled, “I was locked to play the role of Milkha. I remember Ranveer Singh walked out of the audition room and I walked in. They just stopped the audition as they found what they were looking for. I started readings with Prasoon Joshi. I was shooting in Udaipur for 'Aarakshan' and Rakesh Omprakash Mehra came to see me. When it came to locking the commercials, my then manager told me they would handle it. I was 23-year-old, I didn’t know what to talk about money. But my agency ghosted them. Three weeks later, I found out Farhan Akhtar was doing it. I am still disappointed.”

At 25, Prateik Babbar faced yet another?significant setback with the underperformance of his film 'Ekk Deewana Tha' at the box office. The simultaneous breakup with his co-star Amy Jackson added to the distress, which was a major heartbreak moment for him. Reflecting on that?period of time, Prateik felt that life was unfair to him back then.

In the same interview, Prateik spoke about how at the young age of 18, he struggled?with using substances and how that led to his family tricking him into going to?a rehabilitation center. He?openly discussed about it, stating that it was a difficult time.?

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Recounting his battles with alcohol and drug addiction, the actor revealed how these very struggles resulted in him missing out on?numerous wonderful opportunities, causing several projects to either be delayed or canceled altogether. “When I slipped back to self-destruction, the films were getting shelved as I was too drugged up to say my dialogues or show up on set. Then I had a slump in my career. Everything was just so fast, I didn’t understand. It was overwhelming for me. Everything, the politics, the vices, and then I crashed, everything came crumbling down.”

Currently, in his personal life, he seems to be happy with actress Priya Banerjee, who he has been in a relationship with since 2020. On the professional front, he was last seen in the Netflix film, 'Cobalt Blue.'