Prateik Babbar, for now, is making his theatre debut with Six, an adaptation of LB Hamilton’s A Midnight Clear instead
In 2008, Prateik Babbar made a shy, unassuming debut in the movie Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na and was touted as the actor to look out for. Eight years and post a stint in rehab for substance abuse and a couple of flop films, the actor is all set to make his debut again... this time on stage.
Prateik will soon be seen in a play titled Six, based on LB Hamilton’s A Midnight Clear.
The actor, who has been taking acting classes with Jeff Goldberg for the last nine months is excited about the play which sees him playing a gay character. Talking about the play, Prateik tells us that the adaptation has been given a bit of a Mumbaiyya twist for the audience here. “This play was written sometime in the 1940s and has been performed many times. Here, we have changed the characters a bit. I play Rahul, a cricket player in love with Siddhant, the owner of an IPL team. Circumstances take them apart and Rahul gets married to a woman because of society pressure. A couple of years later, he gets to know that Siddhant has been raped and the ex-lovers meet again, only to realise that they can’t be together,” says the actor.
The actor acknowledges that it’s a bold character and he’s clearly up for the challenge. “It’s easy to play a gay character in the comic space, as one can easily stereotype them, but here, it’s a very serious and intense character. It’s a gay relationship with a lot of turmoil and differences. I’m in a place where I need to better my craft and become a better actor,” says Prateik, whose last release Issaq was in 2013.
Although he is keen to continue this relationship with theatre, the actor admits that he will be testing the waters with this play. “It’s my first time on stage and I feel very passionate about the process. Hopefully, if it works, we can do more shows later and even do shows elsewhere in the country and abroad. It’s a slow process and I’m keeping my fingers crossed,” adds the actor.
We can’t help but ask why he didn’t make his theatre debut with Ekjute, the theatre group owned by Nadira Zaheer Babbar who is married to his father Raj Babbar. “I did attend some workshops with Ekjute when I was much younger, but left them midway as I had started shooting for films. Ekjute is homeground for me. My mother Nadira is a disciplinarian and it would be an enriching experience to work with her. But for now, I am not taking any advice from her or my sister Juhi (who is also a theatre actor) as I’m working with Jeff Goldblum and I’m really excited about this endeavour,” says Prateik, who seems to be in a much better head space now. He was recently seen in the short film The Guitar and has also acted in the movie Umrika, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. “Inshallah, all will be well,” he signs off, and we sincerely hope the same.
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 "Bollywood, Prateik Babbar, nadira zaheer babbar,jeff goldberg,jeff goldblum,raj babbar,sundance film festival,umrika,issaq")
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