15 Years of Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na: “Mujhe Rs. 50,000 as acting fees milne waali thi and main woh paise apne doston ke saath udaane waala tha. That was my only motivation to do the film” – Prateik Babbar

By Fenil Seta -

July 4, 2023 - 3:00 PM IST

Talking to Prateik Babbar can be a pleasure as he is comfortable speaking his mind, unlike most actors in our industry. When Bollywood Hungama reached out to him exclusively, he was honest to admit that he didn’t realize that Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na (2008) was completing 15 years on July 4. He laughed as he remarked, “I was under the impression that the film celebrated its 15th anniversary two years ago. That’s because we began shooting for the film 17 years ago.” The actor played the role of Aditi’s (Genelia Deshmukh) brother Amit in his debut film. He was the surprise package of the film and unanimously received praise for his performance, and also a Special Jury Mention Award by Filmfare.

15 Years of Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na: “Mujhe Rs. 50,000 as acting fees milne waali thi and main woh paise apne doston ke saath udaane waala tha. That was my only motivation to do the film” – Prateik Babbar

In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Prateik Babbar opened up on how he bagged the film, his experience a lot more.

How did you bag the film? Before, you used to work with ad filmmaker Prahlad Kakar. How did you make the switch from ads to films?
Yes, I was working with Mr Prahlad Kakar. I was one of his many runners. We literally used to run from one place to another. We would be told, ‘Chor Bazar se yeh le aao’, ‘Bandra Hill Road se woh le aao’. I also acted in a few commercials. When you are working with Mr Kakar, you have to do everything – not just run around and act but also clean toilets, be the best salesperson, be a great DOP etc. I was also taking auditions of actors who want to work in ad films. In between, I would also give auditions for those ads! One day, a call came in for Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, asking if anybody would like to screen-test for the character of Amit. Mr Kakar asked me to try. I gave the audition, bagged the role and the rest is history!

Your character was quite unique. How did you prep for it? Who guided you on the sets?
Honestly, I had no idea what I was doing in the film! I was absolutely unprepared. I wasn’t worried about getting into a character, who my co-star is, kaun bada actor hai, kaun chota actor hai etc. Mujhe paiso se matlab tha. Mujhe Rs. 50,000 as acting fees milne waali thi and main woh paise apne doston ke saath udaane waala tha. That was my only motivation to do the film (laughs)! It was all thanks to Abbas Tyrewala’s patience and genius that he was able to extract the performance from me. I remember that he let me do my thing. Unhone mujhe zyada direct karne ki koshish nahin ki. He just made me comfortable. He told me, ‘Tujhe jaise bolna hai, tu bol’. I would state, ‘Sir, maine lines nahin padhe hai’. He would reply, ‘Theek hai. Abhi lines padh le’.

Your character has a pet mouse in the film. Were you comfortable shooting with it? Are you petrified of mice and rats in real life?
So it was not a rat. It was a mouse. That is still okay. And it’s been so many years. The last time I played with a mouse was in that film. I don’t know how I would react now. Rats se toh main bahut darta hoon I am also petrified of rats as they carry all kinds of diseases.

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na was backed by Aamir Khan. How was your experience of working with him? You did another film with him, Dhobi Ghat (2011)…
Mr Aamir Khan wasn’t aware that I was Smita Patil and Raj Babbar’s son. He learnt about it three weeks before the release when there was a party. That’s where he found it and he made a big deal about it. His ex-wife Kiran Rao at that time was auditioning for Dhobi Ghat. She saw me at the premiere of Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. A week or two later, she called me and asked me to audition. I cracked the audition and bagged that film.

You were kept hidden from the film’s trailers, posters and the publicity campaign. Were you okay with it?
I didn’t care. As I said, my motivation was the pay cheque and I wanted to party with friends. I didn’t have the knowledge or interest in the positioning of my career and my image.

Did you go to cinema halls to check the audience's reaction?
No kyunki meri film nahin thi na (in a lead role). I didn’t care since I had shot for it more than a year ago. I was in a very different state of mind. A month before the release, I was told that Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na will be out on July 4. I just put on a suit and went to the premiere. That was when I saw the film. I haven’t seen it again.

You have also completed 15 years as an actor. It has been a roller-coaster journey for you. You have been open about your drug addiction and how you overcome it. It’s quite commendable since it must have not been easy for you to speak about it…
Absolutely. But I feel that there’s no other way but to open up, be honest and speak your heart out to the audience. I felt it was necessary for me to do that. I felt like a huge load was off my chest. I feel very connected to my audience because of that. I hope they understand what I went through and how much they mean to me. I want to deliver memorable performances and entertain them.

On a lighter note, would you be interested to work in Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na’s sequel if it gets made? We would love to know what happened to Amit later on in life…
Oh absolutely! 100%! Who knows, maybe Amit has become the next Picasso (laughs)! One thing is for sure. If we make a sequel, Riteish Deshmukh will have to be in the film because Genelia doesn’t go anywhere without him. Woh har film Riteish ke saath kar rahi hai. Toh Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na 2 mein Riteish Deshmukh hoga, yeh baat toh confirm hai (laughs)!

Also Read: 15 Years of Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na EXCLUSIVE: Genelia Deshmukh reveals that around 300-400 girls had auditioned for the role of Aditi; opens up on the ‘cat shoksabha’ scene: “Honestly, I related to it as I am like that with my dog. My dog and kids are treated the same way”