Prateik Babbar blasts Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Prateik Babbar's Ek Deewana Tha has just released. The actor fumes over how producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali had treated his first solo release, My Friend Pinto, resulting in his brand value as a lead actor taking a major hit, reports Prashant Singh.
Prateik’s Ekk Deewana Tha (EDT) has opened to a tepid response at box-office. But even before his latest outing, late Smita Patil’s son was fuming over how
producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali had treated his first solo release, My Friend Pinto, resulting in his brand value as a lead actor taking a major hit.
In October 2011, Prateik and My Friend Pinto (MFP) producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali were praising each other to the skies. But of late, the actor has expressed his disappointed about MFP not being marketed well. He’s upset over Bhansali’s non-involvement with the film.
“Yes, I am unhappy, we had put in a lot of hard work, several 20-hour-long days. The film was shot in parts over a period of two-and-a-half years. All of us lived with it. And then to see it not being promoted well was heartbreaking,” rues Prateik.
However, despite the debacle of MFP, the actor still respects Bhansali. “He is an amazing filmmaker and a fantastic visionary. Now that we’re done with that film, we should forget about it,” he says.
Prateik insists that he didn’t mean to offend the filmmaker. “I was only voicing what I felt about a film that was close to my heart. I still want to work with him if he wants me to. I don’t know what went wrong. I guess there was some miscommunication. I just wish that the film had been better placed.”
Meanwhile, speculations are rife about his off-screen chemistry with his latest co-star Amy Jackson and Prateik smiles: “Amy and I are really close, but we are not seeing each other or living-in, as has been reported. We enjoy each other’s company and hang out together with each other’s friends. We are best friends.”
He even insists that link-ups with co-actors no longer bother him. He says, “In the beginning it would, but gossip is a part-and-parcel of an actor’s life and you have to take it with a pinch of salt. It’s inevitable when you are doing a romantic film.”
‘What’s Prateik talking about?’
Sanjay Leela Bhansali remained unavailable for comment but his official spokesperson states, “What is Prateik talking about? Yes, Sanjay Leela Bhansali produced My Friend Pinto, but since when did producers start visiting sets frequently? He has not dropped in on the sets of Rowdy Rathore and Shirin Farhad Ki Nikal Padi that are under production currently even once. Did Prateik think that Mr Bhansali was directing the film? He went to Delhi to promote MFP and even gave interviews, something he hasn’t done during his directorial venture, Guzaarish (2010).
