Did you ever imagine reaching where you have?
No man! I never thought I’d be here. I always thought I’d play cricket for India. You remember, I was in the school cricket team and the kick we got from playing cricket every weekend in Bandra? When I drive past posters of my films, I think ‘Shit, that’s me’!
Then how did it all happen?
I just stumbled upon films. Cricket didn’t work out. So I joined Prahlad Kakkad (ad guru) to keep myself busy. I was curious to know what goes on in an ad film set. I did a few ad commercials before Jaane Tu Ya… Jaane Na (JTYJN)happened. To be honest, I didn’t expect people to like me so much in the film. So I thought if people liked me so much in five scenes, why not go on to do 100 odd scenes?
What’s your fondest memory of school?
Bunking school was fun but I really loved attending school camps. I remember the NDA camp in Pune we went for in the ninth grade. Being an all-boys school this was the first time we were going on a trip with girls from other schools. And the best part was that the girls were known to us. Sneaking into their hostel even with jawans around was thrilling.
You were quite a rebel in school. Did you get a kick out of it?
I got a real kick out of annoying the teachers – mimicking them behind their backs, while they wrote notes on the blackboard. I loved being the clown and making other students laugh. Making a joke about the serious things in life has always come naturally to me.
You were always the ‘cool’ guy in school. You listened to hip-hop music and had girlfriends…
I don’t know why. But I loved all the attention. I remember everyone coming to me for advice on girlfriends and how to get into a relationship, the dos and don’ts. I didn’t know anything myself but it always feels important to give advice. I had a girlfriend who was older to me and the seniors used to envy me. But sometimes, I’d imagine a bunch of these guys coming home to beat me up.
In school and during your initial years in the industry, you hardly spoke about your mother, the late Smita Patil. Were you trying to make your own identity?
See, I’m not going to lie. It did affect me somewhere that I was Smita Patil’s son. The unconditional love, support, pity and sympathy I received just because I was her son made me uneasy. As a kid, I used to get annoyed when my nani (VidyataiPatil) watched her movies. She’d start crying and it would bug me. I’d just walk away. But now that I’ve grown up, I’ve begun to cherish everything my mom left me. In fact, I asked my nani whether I could have some of her photographs. Now that I understand who my mother was and the things she did, it makes me immensely proud. I want to hold on to some of her memories. The only way I can do that is through her photographs and movies. Earlier, I was forced to watch her films but now I watch them on my own. I love to analyse her performances as it helps me understand the sort of person she was.
Even when you made your debut in the movies, you seemed unsure and kept seeking advice.
I still do that. After experimenting with drugs and alcohol, paranoia had set in. I was afraid of being judged and sought approval all the time. Actually, I didn’t really care about people judging me, till I realised that my friends’ parents thought I was the reason behind their children’s wayward ways. Whenever they did something wrong, I was blamed. That hit me. Not that I was the only kid off the mark. But I was the only kid in the limelight. That made me unsure about myself.
How was it working with your mother’s hero Amitabh Bachchan?
He used to say, ‘Tumhara chehra aur muskurahat tumhari maa jaisi hain’. Mr Bachchan is cool. He would yank my chain and say, ‘Koi seekhe acting toh Prateik se seekhe’. I’d feel shy and lower my eyes out of sheer respect.
Coming to your personal life, you seem at peace with Amy. How did your relationship begin?
I had a crush on Amy the day I saw her. I’m shy but I still made the first move. I find it awkward to start a conversation. We spent a lot of time on workshops and shooting. We shot for a month together and then we had a month off. Randomly, one night I messaged her, ‘How you doing?’ and she was like, ‘Yeah all good, how are things with you?’ Then I sent her a message saying, ‘See you soon. I miss you.” (Laughs) And I got a ‘Missing you’ back. And now we are here with each other’s names tattooed on our arms and living together. We’re absolutely committed to each other.
Whose idea was it to get the tattoos?
We went to Goa last year and spoke about getting each other’s names tattooed. We said let’s work hard for a couple of months, go on another holiday and get the tattoos done. Then Amy had to leave the country to get her visa renewed. I thought I’d surprise her on her return with her name tattooed on my forearm. She too thought the same and she returned with mine. She got hers done in the UK and I got mine done here. Then we got more work done on it here. Our tattoos read, ‘Mera pyaar, meri Amy’ and ‘Mera pyaar, mera Prateik’.
No man! I never thought I’d be here. I always thought I’d play cricket for India. You remember, I was in the school cricket team and the kick we got from playing cricket every weekend in Bandra? When I drive past posters of my films, I think ‘Shit, that’s me’!
Then how did it all happen?
I just stumbled upon films. Cricket didn’t work out. So I joined Prahlad Kakkad (ad guru) to keep myself busy. I was curious to know what goes on in an ad film set. I did a few ad commercials before Jaane Tu Ya… Jaane Na (JTYJN)happened. To be honest, I didn’t expect people to like me so much in the film. So I thought if people liked me so much in five scenes, why not go on to do 100 odd scenes?
What’s your fondest memory of school?
Bunking school was fun but I really loved attending school camps. I remember the NDA camp in Pune we went for in the ninth grade. Being an all-boys school this was the first time we were going on a trip with girls from other schools. And the best part was that the girls were known to us. Sneaking into their hostel even with jawans around was thrilling.
You were quite a rebel in school. Did you get a kick out of it?
I got a real kick out of annoying the teachers – mimicking them behind their backs, while they wrote notes on the blackboard. I loved being the clown and making other students laugh. Making a joke about the serious things in life has always come naturally to me.
You were always the ‘cool’ guy in school. You listened to hip-hop music and had girlfriends…
I don’t know why. But I loved all the attention. I remember everyone coming to me for advice on girlfriends and how to get into a relationship, the dos and don’ts. I didn’t know anything myself but it always feels important to give advice. I had a girlfriend who was older to me and the seniors used to envy me. But sometimes, I’d imagine a bunch of these guys coming home to beat me up.
In school and during your initial years in the industry, you hardly spoke about your mother, the late Smita Patil. Were you trying to make your own identity?
See, I’m not going to lie. It did affect me somewhere that I was Smita Patil’s son. The unconditional love, support, pity and sympathy I received just because I was her son made me uneasy. As a kid, I used to get annoyed when my nani (VidyataiPatil) watched her movies. She’d start crying and it would bug me. I’d just walk away. But now that I’ve grown up, I’ve begun to cherish everything my mom left me. In fact, I asked my nani whether I could have some of her photographs. Now that I understand who my mother was and the things she did, it makes me immensely proud. I want to hold on to some of her memories. The only way I can do that is through her photographs and movies. Earlier, I was forced to watch her films but now I watch them on my own. I love to analyse her performances as it helps me understand the sort of person she was.
Even when you made your debut in the movies, you seemed unsure and kept seeking advice.
I still do that. After experimenting with drugs and alcohol, paranoia had set in. I was afraid of being judged and sought approval all the time. Actually, I didn’t really care about people judging me, till I realised that my friends’ parents thought I was the reason behind their children’s wayward ways. Whenever they did something wrong, I was blamed. That hit me. Not that I was the only kid off the mark. But I was the only kid in the limelight. That made me unsure about myself.
How was it working with your mother’s hero Amitabh Bachchan?
He used to say, ‘Tumhara chehra aur muskurahat tumhari maa jaisi hain’. Mr Bachchan is cool. He would yank my chain and say, ‘Koi seekhe acting toh Prateik se seekhe’. I’d feel shy and lower my eyes out of sheer respect.
Coming to your personal life, you seem at peace with Amy. How did your relationship begin?
I had a crush on Amy the day I saw her. I’m shy but I still made the first move. I find it awkward to start a conversation. We spent a lot of time on workshops and shooting. We shot for a month together and then we had a month off. Randomly, one night I messaged her, ‘How you doing?’ and she was like, ‘Yeah all good, how are things with you?’ Then I sent her a message saying, ‘See you soon. I miss you.” (Laughs) And I got a ‘Missing you’ back. And now we are here with each other’s names tattooed on our arms and living together. We’re absolutely committed to each other.
Whose idea was it to get the tattoos?
We went to Goa last year and spoke about getting each other’s names tattooed. We said let’s work hard for a couple of months, go on another holiday and get the tattoos done. Then Amy had to leave the country to get her visa renewed. I thought I’d surprise her on her return with her name tattooed on my forearm. She too thought the same and she returned with mine. She got hers done in the UK and I got mine done here. Then we got more work done on it here. Our tattoos read, ‘Mera pyaar, meri Amy’ and ‘Mera pyaar, mera Prateik’.
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