Prateik Babbar, Priya Banerjee on not inviting father Raj Babbar and his family: Nobody was missing, people who mattered were there

Prateik and Priya

Prateik Babbar and Priya Banerjee recently tied the knot in an intimate ceremony on Valentine’s Day, choosing to celebrate their love in a deeply personal way. The wedding, held at the house Prateik’s late mother, legendary actress Smita Patil, had purchased in Bandra, Mumbai, was attended by close friends and family.

However, the absence of Prateik’s father, veteran actor-politician Raj Babbar, and his half-siblings, Aarya and Juhi Babbar, led to speculation about strained family ties.

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Addressing these rumours, Priya Banerjee firmly dismissed any notion of an important family member being left out. Speaking to Hindustan Times, she said, “There was absolutely no family member who was missing from the wedding or our celebrations. I don’t know why there are rumours that ‘family members’ were absent. Our families were there, including my parents, his aunts who raised him, his nana-nani, and everyone who mattered and his family was with us. And there was absolutely nobody who is family who was missing.”

Despite this clarification, Aarya Babbar, Prateik’s half-brother, publicly expressed his disappointment over being excluded from the wedding. In an interview with ETimes, Aarya stated, “Nobody from the Babbar family was invited—not even my father." He also hinted at external influence, adding, "I presume someone has overpowered his brain too much. He is not wanting to connect with anyone from this side of the family."

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Following the wedding, Aarya further criticized Prateik’s decision, calling it “disrespectful” to his late mother, Smita Patil. Speaking to Hindustan Times, he said, “Main iss hadd tak kehta hoon ki theek hai hamari maa Nadira ko nahi bulana chahte the woh, for whatever reason… I will give him the benefit of the doubt. He didn’t want to invite me or my sister Juhi (Babbar), okay. But at least he should have invited that person who Smita maa had loved, his father. Yeh cheez disrespect hai towards Smita maa.”

Despite Aarya’s disappointment, Prateik and Priya remain unfazed, maintaining that their wedding was attended by the people who truly mattered to them. Priya, reflecting on her transition into married life, shared, “Honestly, being married to Prateik and being married didn’t feel any different. We had been together for a very long time. It had been almost five years, we had lived under the same roof. More than that, I felt like I had known him forever. It felt the same.”

Prateik, on the other hand, took a more philosophical approach to their union, saying, “It felt like I was doing this for the thousandth time. This was like another lifetime, another universe. I felt like I married her in every lifetime and every universe, and this was another one… and there were many more to go.”

This wedding marks Prateik’s second marriage, following his previous union with Sanya Sagar. While the absence of the Babbar family remains a topic of discussion, Prateik and Priya have made it clear that their wedding was exactly how they wanted it—surrounded by those they love and cherish.