Prateik Babbar gets a thumbs-up from Aamir

The hard-to-please Aamir Khan has been gushing about the young actor

Newcomer Prateik has found support from a strong quarter—the hard-to-please Aamir Khan has been gushing about the young actor. At a recent press conference in Mumbai, Khan described Prateik, his co-star in Dhobi Ghat, as “talented and very dedicated”. Prateik, on the other hand, lived up to his reputation for reticence by answering questions in a few, carefully considered words.
“I’m very grateful that I got to work on this film,” said Prateik, who had made an impact with his bit role in his first film Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na. He admitted that playing the role of a dhobi was an unconventional move, given that most newcomers expect to play romantic college boys. “I was surprised to be offered the role of a dhobi, but the script was so good that I couldn’t resist it,” he said. On his few scenes with Khan in the movie, he said, “We have about three or four scenes together. The thing about Aamir is that he’s so intense when he’s acting, that he left me hungry for more. I wanted to do more scenes with him.” Khan returned the compliment. “It was a pleasure working with Prateik,” he said. “He spent about two to three months preparing for this role; he went to the Dhobi Ghat in Mahalaxmi everyday and spent time with the people there. He’s the ideal newcomer.”
Dhobi Ghat, made on a budget of Rs 5 crore, marks the directorial debut of Khan’s wife Kiran Rao. It will be released in an all-Hindi version as well as the original version in which key scenes are in English. Khan explained, “I met a lady who said that she didn’t understand English but she would like to see the film. We decided to dub those scenes in Hindi so that the film could reach out to more people.