Aarya Babbar’s explosive remarks on Prateik Smita Patil have reignited the Babbar family feud, from wedding snubs to surname changes, putting Raj Babbar’s strained family dynamics back in the spotlight.
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The Babbar family feud has once again spilled into the public eye. Actor Aarya Babbar has come out swinging against his half-brother Prateik, now known as Prateik Smita Patil, in a candid interview that has set Bollywood talking.
In a recent conversation with journalist Vickey Lalwani, Aarya Babbar opened up about his relationship with Prateik and accused him of disrespecting their father, veteran actor Raj Babbar. The interview, published on May 22, 2026, has since gone viral.
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Aarya did not hold back. He said, “When you want all the benefits, then he is your father.” The remark was a direct reference to Prateik’s alleged selective acknowledgement of Raj Babbar, according to Aarya.
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Aarya told Lalwani, “We nurture some relationships with a lot of love because they are too delicate, so you care for them a lot. We didn’t understand when he suddenly stopped connecting with us as soon as his divorce from his ex-wife was sorted. I texted him, called him so many times, but no response.”
Despite the bitterness, Aarya said that as an elder brother, he would still be there for Prateik, but he might not be able to embrace and love him the same way as before.
The tensions trace back to February 2025. Prateik married actress Priya Banerjee on February 14, 2025, at Smita Patil’s home. The couple’s wedding photos were widely shared, but the complete absence of the Babbar family from the ceremony raised questions immediately.
Aarya had earlier expressed his shock and hurt over not being invited. He said, “Not inviting our Papa, his Papa (Raj Babbar), how can he do this? Papa is very, very hurt.”
He also admitted that the family may have played a part in the rift, saying, “Somewhere we as a family must have failed him.”
Prateik’s wife Priya Banerjee had a different take. She stated that everyone who mattered to them was present at the wedding, pushing back on claims that important family members were excluded.
If the wedding controversy was not enough, Prateik then took a step that deepened the public divide. After the wedding, Prateik officially dropped his father’s surname and began going by Prateik Smita Patil, adopting his late mother’s name instead.
Reacting to the name change in an earlier interview with Hindustan Times, Aarya said, “I just have to say that Smita ma is our mother too. And what name he doesn’t want to keep and what name he wants to keep is his choice.”
He went further and said, “You can change your name, but you can’t change your identity.”
Born on November 28, 1986, in Mumbai, Prateik is the son of late actress Smita Patil and actor-politician Raj Babbar. His mother passed away in 1986 due to childbirth complications.
Prateik was raised by his maternal grandparents in Mumbai. In past interviews, he has spoken about having a strained relationship with his father while growing up, saying his father was “always busy with his other family.” He also said the two reconciled after he grew into adulthood.
Raj Babbar married Nadira Zaheer in 1975. They have two children together, Juhi and Aarya. Raj then married Smita Patil in 1983.
Aarya is not the only sibling who spoke out. His sister Juhi Babbar also commented on the situation, saying that Prateik had likely been influenced by people around him. She also expressed a desire to stay out of the matter publicly.
In a subsequent social media post, Aarya shared a standup comedy reel where he revealed that he had asked Raj Babbar what to say to the media about not attending Prateik’s wedding, just as he used to face similar uncomfortable questions as a child. The reel, light on the surface, pointed at something deeper: a father who found out about his son’s wedding through public reports and had to prepare his other son for media scrutiny rather than sit at the wedding table.
Raj Babbar has not made any direct public statement about the feud. Prateik has not publicly responded to Aarya’s latest remarks.
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