Prateik Babbar talks about his drug addiction during childhood:  I got thrown out of every school and college...

Prateik Babbar opens up about drug addiction

Prateik Babbar recently talked about a difficult period in his life, describing how his battle with drug addiction resulted in his expulsion from Whistling Woods International, the acting school founded by famous director Subhash Ghai.

The actor discussed how substance abuse had a significant impact on his personal and professional lives in an open interview with Bollywood Bubble.

Prateik, who made a memorable debut in the 2008 movie Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na, acknowledged that he had made a number of bad choices when he was younger.

"I made terrible decisions. Since I was going through something from a very young age, I won't say there is anything I could have done differently. I decided to start abusing drugs and alcohol once more. I succumbed to my weakness. If I may say so, I had good reasons. Things were much more complicated than they seem now. However, those decisions led to my downfall in both my personal and professional lives," he said.

The actor, who was raised by his maternal grandparents following the death of his mother—veteran actress Smita Patil—shortly after childbirth, expressed deep regret over the pain his addiction caused his family. “The grandparents saw the worst of me in those last few years. I was a raging addict. My grandmother died seeing me an addict. That’s something I regret. I wish she could see the man I have become today,” he said.

Discussing his time at Whistling Woods, Prateik recalled how his life had become directionless, eventually leading to his expulsion. “I shot Jaane Tu and then I went to Whistling Woods. I was studying a little bit here and there. There was a kind of slump as I didn’t know what I was doing. I was there for about 2 years and then I was thrown out of Whistling Woods for doing drugs. Now that I think about it, it is funny. I got thrown out of every school and college I went into. I was a menace.”

Prateik, who is currently recovering and reflecting on himself, is working to rebuild his life and career in an effort to honour his late mother's legacy and make his family proud.