Prateik Babber celebrates his ^23rd birthday today. He talks about his plans and future films.

After making an understated yet brilliant debut in Jaane Tu Yaa Jaane Na, Prateik Babber has been hailed as the next face of unconventional Bollywood cinema. He has been signed on by Rohan Sippy for a thriller in which he will share screen space with Abhishek Bachchan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali has signed him on for My Friend Pinto, a comedy.

‘I am not someone who gets very excited about birthdays. I do the usual; hanging out with friends and meeting family.’

A source informs us that Prateik’s grandparents are flying down to Mumbai to spend the day with him as they are very close. His aunt is throwing a birthday bash for him at a suburban hotel. She has called all his close friends and family members. In fact, Prateik has been inundated with gifts and phone calls since last night. Girls he doesn’t know are calling him and telling him that they loved him in JTYJN and cannot wait for his next film.

Prateik will be seen in Kiran Rao’s Dhobi Ghaat next. He shares the screen with Aamir Khan in this film. About the film and his character, he says, ‘Dhobi Ghaat revolves around Bombay- the high society and the dhobis. The two scenarios are juxtaposed well. My character Munna is an energetic and sensitive guy and he is a Dhobi. I washed clothes with the dhobis at Dhobi Ghaat for three days to prepare for my character.’

Prateik says that life hasn’t changed much for him, except, ‘It has become more work oriented and people recognize me and that feels great.’

As for his ideal birthday gift, ‘I would love to do a film in which Megan Fox is my co-star,’ he grins.