PRATEIK IS IN A HAPPY SPACE

THE ACTOR HAS BEEN SLOWLY BUT STEADILY GETTING WORK AND IS PROFESSIONALLY WELL-SATISFIED. HE’S BUSY SHOOTING FOR WOH LADKI HAI KAHAAN WRITTEN/DIRECTED IN WHICH HE

BY ARSHAD SAYED,

Ask him about his role in Who Ladki… and he says, “Yes, I’m a hen-pecked husband, but you can also call him a helpful husband.” Elaborating, he says Taapsee is a policewoman, tough and tomboyish. “And I’m a ‘bechara’, the ‘Yes man’ in her life. I say Yes to everything. For example, she says, ‘I’m a police official, I don’t wear saris, I will never wash utensils, I won’t cook either.’ And I’m like, ‘Okay you go ahead. I will iron your clothes. I will cook for you, mein hoon na!”

What’s Pratik Gandhi’s character, we ask. He is playing a groom whose bride has run away – hence the title, Woh

Ladki Hai Kahan,” explains Prateek, adding, “Taapsee is trying to find the bride.”

Talking about the shooting schedule, he says he will be joining Taapsee and Pratik in Jaipur for the shoot. He will be there for around three weeks, after which he will come back to Mumbai for another bit of shooting. He is hopeful that the film will be released next year.

Meanwhile, the actor is very excited about Cobalt Blue, his film set to release on Netflix. “It’s a heart-breaking love story of a brother and sister who fall in love with the same man. Set in the early 90’s, the film explores the various shades of relationship and love. It’s based on a novel written by Sachin Kundalkar, a National Awardee. He has made it into a film which will be released on December 3,” he tells us.

We ask him about his approach to work — does he approach filmmakers himself, or does he have managers to do that? “I do both,” says Prateik, who has a good lineup of projects. “I reach out to filmmakers myself – that’s how I bagged Chhichhore,” he reveals. Admitting that finding the right manager is very difficult, the actor says that it’s all about networking. “It’s not as easy as it seems, but it’s part of our profession, and you have to deal with it.” Hiccups Hook-ups, a no-filter family show in which Prateik plays the brother of Lara Dutta, has opened to good response. “The show directed by Kunal Kohli Sir released, people are intrigued by it and are watching it eagerly. They are having conversations about it. The credit belongs to all of us as we have set the bar high.

And were hiccups and hook-ups part of his life as a young man, we probe. “Yes,” smiles Prateik. “They were part of my life. I think they’re part of every man’s life. Everybody grows out of hook-ups, but the hiccups are constant. They keep coming till our last breath, we cannot escape them.”

HIS MATERNAL GRANDMOM

“Hers was my favourite shoulder to lean on. I would just lie in her lap when things went wrong. She would hold my head and console me, saying, ‘Don’t worry, everything will be okay. This is what the world is like, you have to deal with the ups and the downs,’” he said.

PLAYS THE

HEN-PECKED

HUSBAND OF

TAAPASEE PANNU

“Life is very stable. Both (he and his wife) of us are extremely busy. She’s also a filmmaker. She likes dabbling in everything she can, and is busy doing her thing. I feel very settled in my head now, professionally and personally as well.”

ON MARRIAGE

“Life is very stable. Both of us are extremely busy. She is also a filmmaker. She likes dabbling in everything she can, and is busy doing her thing. I feel very settled in my head now, professionally and personally as well.” Sharing more about his personal life, Prateik says, “We are not planning to have any kids right now. I want to work for some more years.”

ON DAD RAJ BABBAR

“I am really hoping that we can work together soon,” he replies. “I meet my dad often and we are good friends. We share a great equation, there are absolutely no filters. I share everything under the sun with him, and it feels wonderful. I have learned so much from him. He is such a hardworking man.” Prateik adds that politics has taken a backseat in his father’s life, as he is concentrating on doing some acting projects.

UPS AND DOWNS IN HIS LIFE

“Everybody has his or her own journey, and this is mine. I have been dealt a terrible hand in life. I had a complicated childhood. I grew up with complications. But I think this hard journey made me stronger, the downfalls taught me to deal with life. Your failures are your biggest teachers,” Prateik elaborates. “I understand that it was no one’s fault, it’s all down to destiny and circumstances. I battled on by myself, and that made me who I am today. But now, I feel mehnat ka fal meetha hota hai (the fruits of hard work are sweet). I am able to taste

that sweetness.”

I feel very settled in my head now, professionally and personally as well. I have been dealt a terrible hand in life. I But I think this hard journey made me stronger, the downfalls taught me to deal with life.”*