The long-standing tension within the Babbar family has once again come into publix focus and after actor Arya babbar made strong remarks about his half-brother Prateik Smita Patil and his relationship with veteran actor Raj Babbar. The comments arrive months after Prateik’s second wedding, which reportedly took place without Raj Babbar or members of his first family in attendance.
Prateik, who recently changed his name from Prateik Babbar to Prateik Smita Patil, has often spoken about his difficult bond with his father over the years.
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Arya Babbar Speaks About Family Distance
During a recent conversation with Vickey Lalwani, Arya Babbar reflected on how his family had tried to maintain a careful and respectful relationship with Prateik over the years. According to Arya, communication between them stopped entirely after Prateik’s divorce from his first wife.
He claimed that despite publicly distancing himself from Raj Babbar and the Babbar family, Prateik continued to depend on his father financially.
“It’s like when your career is not doing well, and you need pocket money from dad to survive, then he is your father. When you want to live in the house that your father bought for Smita maa, then he is your father. When you want all the benefits, then he is your father. But when you have to acknowledge him and give him respect in front of society, then he is not your father. What is that? As an elder brother, I love him, but when he is wrong, he is wrong, and this is where he is wrong."
'I Will Be There For Him...'
Arya also described the situation as emotionally painful for the family and spoke about the irony he sees in the current circumstances.
He said, “It is so tragic that the Smita maa, for whom my father left his family, today that Smita maa’s son is not ready to acknowledge him as his father. What could be a bigger tragedy than that?"
He further added, “As an elder brother, I will be here for him, but if I am asked if I can embrace and love him the same way, then maybe not."
Raj Babbar And Smita Patil’s Relationship
Raj Babbar met actor Smita Patil while working on Bheegi Palkein in 1982. At the time, he was already married to theatre personality Nadira Babbar, with whom he had two children, Arya and Juhi Babbar.
Their relationship soon became a major talking point in the industry and faced criticism because Raj Babbar was already married. Despite the public scrutiny and reported opposition from Smita Patil’s family, the couple married in 1983.
Raj Babbar moved in with Smita Patil but never officially divorced Nadira Babbar. In 1986, Smita and Raj welcomed their son, Prateik Smita Patil. Tragedy struck soon after, as Smita Patil died due to complications following childbirth at the age of 31.
Following her death, Raj Babbar eventually returned to Nadira Babbar and reunited with his first family.