Today is an emotional day for Prateik. It marks the 25th year of his mother and legendary actor, Smita Patil’s untimely demise. Every year, along with his family, Prateik performs a small
puja
(prayer ceremony) on his mother’s death anniversary. But this time, at his grandparents’ behest, they will have an elaborate ceremony.
Incidentally, Prateik was only 15 days old when his mother passed away. According to a source associated with the
family, “This is an important year for Prateik, who’s making his full-fledged debut in
Dhobi Ghat
{{/usCountry}}Dhobi Ghat
{{/usCountry}}, after a small but significant role in
Jaane Tu.. Ya Jaane Na
.
If Smitaji had been around, she would have been overjoyed to see her son’s career begin with a banner like Aamir Khan Productions. Also, he’s getting a lot of positive feedback for his performance in
Dhobi Ghat
at International film festivals. So his grandparents suggested they have an elaborate ceremony to celebrate the happiness she would have felt, had she been in their midst.”
The family thought of conducting the extensive ceremony while attending the Smita Patil Retrospective at the 10th Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival in New York last month. When contacted, Prateik said, “My grandparents wanted to have a proper
puja
at home. So, the entire family will be gathering for it on Monday morning.”