As he takes stock of his 14-year-long career in showbiz, Prateik Babbar, who made his debut with Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na (2008), feels happy when he looks back at his work in the last five years. This was the phase when he was seen in diverse films, including Baaghi 2, Mulk and Chhichhore, among others, and also stepped into the digital space. Prateik, who will soon be seen in India Lockdown and Woh Ladki Hai Kahaan, feels that he’s evolved as an actor and person over these years. In a chat with Bombay Times, he talks about why he wants to take the credit for reaching where he has and the kind of identity he wants to create for himself. Excerpts:

The last four-five years have been good. I won’t say ‘best’, but it has definitely been a very positive and exciting time for me. I will always be hungry for a better version of myself. Today, I might feel loved and appreciated as an artiste, but the best is yet to come. I must say that the future is looking bright. I feel very positive and confident about being an actor, especially now, with various projects in the pipeline. I am happy with the variety I have on my platter because I strive to be as diverse as an actor as possible.

It is sheer hard work, hunger, passion and love for what I do. It has been a grind, which included a few years of working for no money, being rejected by people many times, and knocking on several doors and not getting any response. It has been a journey of singlehandedly trying to put myself out there and let people know that, hey, I am still here, and I am here to prove myself.

I don’t blame anyone for that. It was my own doing and my own battles that I was fighting. People know about the substance and alcohol abuse I battled, and it obviously ignited the flame. People were wary of working with me. Filmmakers were not aware of my capabilities as an actor. I struggled as I wanted to be known as an actor. I wanted to be Smita Patil’s son, who’s a great actor. I want people to think that, and eventually, they will. I am confident about it. Since I love what I do, I put my heart and soul into it. So, people will have no choice but to take notice. I am 100 per cent confident it will happen because my mother is watching over me. She is guiding me. Today, I am new and improved. I am 100 per cent a team player. I want to be somebody who people enjoy working with. Likewise, I want to work with people who I enjoy working with. I want to ensure that people enjoy my work, company, professionalism and trust me. And they are already taking notice of all of this.

To hone my skills, I did projects for free. I acted in plays for over two years. I also trained under (acting coach) Jeff Goldberg for over two years and studied method acting. I have been working continuously and that helped me polish my skills. It happens naturally when you keep the motor running, right? It has been a continuous work in progress... just non-stop work. I am happy that with all this I am back in the game. I will not let anybody else take credit for that, but myself. These last five years have been all me! No father, aunts, influential friends or family members made any calls to get me work. I called up people, gave auditions and cracked them, too. This is my journey. My journey has been different, and I am going to take credit for that. During Chhichhore, I called up Nitesh Tiwari and asked him to audition me. I auditioned for two characters and he thought I performed well in both, so he asked me to pick one.