Tips Industries had announced an exclusive series of short films, each of them being a story interwoven with a reimagined iconic Tips song. The latest short film is Beinteha, starring Prateik Babbar and Elli AvrRam. The reimagined song in this film is Tere Dar Pe Sanam, from the 1993 film Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee starring Rahul Roy and Pooja Bhatt. Beinteha is gritty romantic drama centered around Kabir (Prateik), an underground fighter, and Kiara (Elli), the mistress of gangster J.
Son of late actress Smita Patil and former MP Raj Babbar, Prateik had appeared in TV ads for several campaigns, including Nestle KitKat, and made his movie debut in the 2008 romcom Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na, which had also marked the debut of Imran Khan. Some of his other projects over the years include Dhobi Ghat, My Friend Pinto and Chhichhore.
Severe back injury
While preparing for his role in Beinteha, Prateik had injured his back. “The role had been written keeping me in mind, which was incredibly encouraging, and I wanted to give my best performance for our director, Arif. As soon as I signed on, I began training to build my body and look more attractive on screen. Unfortunately, during this preparation, I severely injured my back, specifically my L2 and L5 vertebrae,” Prateik told us.
The injury occurred in mid-December, just weeks before the scheduled shoot at the end of December. Every month, the team would ask if he was ready, but he had to decline. Finally, in March, despite not having full medical clearance, they had to proceed with filming due to scheduling constraints. From December to March, Prateik focused intensely on physiotherapy and rehabilitation, and all his physical training had to stop.
When they finally began shooting, they started with the action sequences to mitigate risks. Understandably, he was extremely nervous during every punch, kick, and movement, fearing he might re-injure his back. Interestingly, they managed to complete all the action sequences, but he relapsed the very next day.
For the remaining 7 days of shooting, he pushed through intense pain, relying on medication and back support. Standing straight was a challenge, and the only time he found relief was when sitting. Throughout this period, he couldn’t really keep himself occupied with anything else - “I could only dream about the shoot and mentally prepare for the scenes I couldn’t physically rehearse,” Prateik says.
In self-defence
With seven years in MMA training, we were curious to ask if placed in a real life situation, how many opponents could he take on?
“MMA, like all martial arts, is fundamentally about respect, discipline, and sportsmanship — not violence. I don’t train MMA to prove myself in fights or to take on multiple opponents. Instead, I train for personal discipline, focus, respect, and skill-building. That said, if I were put in a position where I had to defend myself against multiple attackers, I am well-equipped to handle the situation. But that’s not why I train. MMA has made me capable, but it’s also taught me to avoid unnecessary confrontations,” he told us.
The pain factor
Clearly, the most notable aspect of the shoot for Prateik was the constant challenge posed by his back injury. Filming the action
sequences meant being in a constant state of anxiety, fearing that any wrong move could re-injure his back.
But pain, as we all have experienced in our lives, has its own process. The real struggle for him began after the three days of the action sequences, once the adrenaline of the action scenes wore off, the pain intensified dramatically. For the remaining scenes, which were actually less physically demanding, Prateik was in excruciating pain.
“I could barely stand. To manage, I was taking 6-8 painkillers a day continuously. It reached a point where even standing brought me to tears. Yet, we pushed through and completed the shoot. This experience - shooting an entire film while battling severe back pain - is something I believe people should know about. It wasn’t just one incident, but rather a constant struggle throughout the entire shoot,” Prateik expressed.
Directed by Arif Khan and produced by Kumar Taurani and Girissh Kumar, Beinteha is now available on the Tips official YouTube channel.
