Raj Babbar remembers Smita Patil on her 71st birth anniversary: 'I miss her'

Smita Patil would have turned 71 on Saturday, and her husband, veteran actor and politician Raj Babbar, marked the day with an emotional Instagram post.

Sharing a photograph of the late actress, Raj praised her warmth and her talent. "Smita had a rare sensitivity," he wrote, adding, "I miss her." He said her legacy still moves people across generations and that "Smita left behind a part of herself in every heart she touched."

Their son, actor Prateik Smita Patil, is keeping the day low key. He said it would be "just a simple cake cutting" with his wife Priya Banerjee Patil and their son Chico, because that is how his mother would have wanted it.

Raj and Smita first met in 1982 on the set of Bheegi Palkein. Prateik was born on 28 November 1986. Barely two weeks later, on 13 December, Smita died of complications after childbirth. She was 31. Her parents raised Prateik in Mumbai.

Her last film was Galiyon Ka Badshah, directed by Sher Jung Singh, with Raaj Kumar, Hema Malini and Mithun Chakraborty in the cast. It was shot years before its long delayed release.

As an actor, Raj was last seen in the 2024 film Ek Kori Prem Katha, directed by Chinmay Purohit.