Actor Prateik Babbar, who made a mark playing Genelia D'Souza's brother in the 2008 hit film Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na, opened up last year about his drug addiction and his struggle, and how he overcame it. The 31-year-old actor has now revealed that he almost died of a cocaine overdose in 2015.
Talking about what turned things around him, Prateik told the Indian Express recently: "I learnt the hard way, and I learnt the wrong way. I almost lost myself. In 2015, I almost died of an overdose of cocaine. That's what turned things around for me. And then I realized I had to get out there and go for what I wanted. A second chance at life was my motivation. It was also about making my grandparents proud."
Prateik also revealed how his family and friends were supportive and helped him get rid of his habits. When he opened about his problems, Sanjay Dutt, who has also gone through such a phase, motivated him to quit the habit and gave him the confidence to share his experience.
"To be honest, the guilt ate me alive. I felt my fans loved me unconditionally and I was lying to them. And I thought that no matter what the repercussions whoever those people are that love me unconditionally, but I need them to know about what a mess I am, and that's why I decided to talk about it," Prateik told The Indian Express.
The actor also admitted that he has been clean for a while now and has been looking at his past experience as a learning lesson in life.
On January 22, Prateik got engaged to his girlfriend Sanya Sagar, after one year of dating, in a private ceremony at the bride's farmhouse in Lucknow.
On the work front, Prateik will be seen in a negative role in Sajid Nadiadwala's action-adventure thriller Baaghi 2, which stars Tiger Shroff and Disha Patani. Directed by Ahmed Khan, the movie is all set to hit the theatres on March 30, 2018.
