Prateik Babbar reveals director Sanjay Leela Bhansali wanted to cast him in Saawariya but he was in rehab

Actor Prateik Babbar made his Bollywood debut with a supporting role in the 2007 movie Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, when he was barely out of his teens. Nonetheless, the actor has uncovered that he nearly made his debut in a totally different movie. In a recent interview, Prateik uncovered that director Sanjay Leela Bhansali wanted to cast him in his romantic drama Saawariya. To Prateik’s misfortune, he was in rehab at that time and missed out on the opportunity.

Speaking about it in a recent interaction with Mashable India, Prateik said, “Actually I have a funny story. Mr Sanjay Leela Bhansali was calling my house when I was 18 years old, when I was in rehab, for Saawariya. I was too young, I was in rehab so it couldn’t have worked out. But my grandparents told me a few years later.”

Prateik explained that missing out on being in Saawariya didn’t pinch him in light of the fact that at that point in life, he did not want to be an actor. Both of Prateik’s parents are known actor. His dad Raj Babbar had extraordinary success in the 80s while mother late Smita Patil is regarded as one of the greatest actors in the Hindi film industry. Despite this, Prateik said, “I never wanted to be an actor. I just stumbled into it and it became my calling. Since both my folks were actors – and good actors. I wanted to be a rockstar at that time, far away from the world of acting. I wanted to grow my hair, wear eye make-up, face make-up and scream on stage. Before that, I wanted to be a cricketer.”