I take time to open up: Prateik

Feb 15, 2012 IANS

Mumbai, Feb 15 (IANS) A man of few words, Prateik is a natural actor thanks to his legacy, but the 25-year-old says acting is such a vast subject that he can't learn every nuance even if he gets to spend decades in front of the camera.

"I am enjoying it. Yes, I am comfortable, as I said I take time to open up. Coming to terms with it, I am enjoying," said Prateik, the son of Raj Babbar and the late Smita Patil.

With each day he learns something new, but he feels it's impossible to absorb the vastness of the subject. "I don't think I will understand each and everything even if I reach (Amitabh) Bachchan's age. There are so many things to learn."

The youngster is gearing up for his first full-fledged romantic film "Ekk Deewana Tha", the remake of a Tamil and Telugu film, and says he was so blown away by the southern versions that he couldn't refuse the offer.

"I got a call from director Gautham Menon. He said 'I am making a remake of my Tamil and Telugu film and I want you to watch those films and let me know if you want to do it or not'. I watched the films and I was completely blown away by the film, story, screenplay, character and the romance between the boy and girl. So I immediately said yes."

"I didn't think too much because I was so blown away when I came out of the movies. I was so taken aback by the story and the simplicity of the romance that I wanted to that. Gradually, I stared working the character."

However, some changes were made in the Hindi remake, keeping audience sensibilities in mind.

"The only change is the ending. Tamil had a sad ending; Telugu had a happy ending. This is a secret. It's a pretty much frame-to-frame copy though. But I think I had to bring my own instincts and pull my own style. So, I had to bring in my own," he said.

Being the son of Smita Patil, directors expect a lot from Prateik. But the actor says he would have given his best even if he did not have such a legacy.

"May be they do, I don't know if this is an advantage. I don't know whether there's pressure on me. I mean whether I was her son or not I would want to give my 200 percent. I do make an effort to give my best," he said.

Audiences loved him in "Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na" and "Dhobi Ghat", but when he turned up as the protagonist in "My Friend Pinto", it didn't get the same overwhelming response and the film bombed at the box office.

"I don't regret the films I chose; I regret what happened to my film 'My Friend Pinto'. I expected more from it, but it wasn't marketed as much as it should have been. I was disappointed on that."

While speculation about Prateik's off-screen relationship with his co-star Amy Jackson has been making the rounds, he clarifies saying, "We are extremely close and fond of each other, but we are not in a relationship." Click the Movie button below for more info:
Ekk Deewana Tha