Aarya Babbar breaks silence on Prateik Babbar changing his surname: 'Smita ma is our...'

Prateik Babbar, son of actor-politician Raj Babbar, recently changed his surname to ‘Prateik Smita Patil’ to honour his late mother, Smita Patil. This move has sparked speculation about a rift between Prateik and his father. Prateik has emphasised his desire to be associated solely with his mother's name and legacy, implying a distancing from his father's influence. Prateik's half-brother, Aarya Babbar, has recently weighed in, stating that one cannot simply shed one's identity. 

Reacting to Prateik's surname change, Aarya stated that Smita is their mother too, and it's up to Prateik to decide which surname he wants to keep or discard.  He emphasized that changing one's name doesn't alter one's identity. He illustrated his point by saying that even if he were to change his name from Aarya Babbar to simply Aarya or Rajesh, he would still be a Babbar at his core. He stressed that one's existence and identity remain unchanged, regardless of any name change.

"Aap apna name change kar sakte ho, wajood nahi (You can change your name, but you can't change your identity). Rahunga toh Babbar hi becasue wajood mera woh hi hai, aap woh kaise change kar sakte ho (I'll remain a Babbar because my existence is rooted in that, how can you change that?)”, he told Hindustan Times.

Meanwhile, Aarya Babbar remains unbothered by the media frenzy surrounding his family's personal issues. He acknowledged that as a public family, they will inevitably face scrutiny and gossip. "We're a family in the public eye, so people will naturally have things to say. We can't control it, and we've learned to accept it," he stated. 

For the unversed, tensions within the Babbar family became apparent when Prateik Babbar married Priya Banerjee without inviting his family. Prateik's father, Raj Babbar, has two children with his first wife, Nadira, and a son, Prateik, with his second wife, Smita Patil, who passed away in 1986. Raj and Nadira later reconciled.