Prateik Smita Patil’s tribute to his late mother leaves social media baffled: From ‘This is art’ to ‘in bad taste’

Prateik Smita Patil’s tribute to his late mother is both moving and disturbing at the same time, according to social media. On 13 May, Prateik appeared on a video to discuss the former actress’ smile.

“She died giving birth to me/ I grew up knowing her face before I ever knew her. She really was a gorgeous woman with an exceptional smile. Everyone she spoke to and smiled at, I hear, fell in love with it. Man, I hated that as a kid cuz I never got to see her,” he says in the video.

“I changed the way I smiled. Yeah, I was just a goofball, man. I don't know what, I was just trying to be funny. I mean, of course, I have her blood running through my veins. But, I never met the woman. Still, my nana would be like, ‘Come on. Smile like her’. I've never met her,” Prateik continues as we see many smiling photos of the late Smita Patil.

“Something strange happened after my first film. The world started seeing her again. And, I finally saw her that day, smiling back at me. Maybe, that's the day I really learned to smile,” Prateik says about his mother.

“I tell you what, the woman had a damn good smile, and I better take care of them,” he concludes.

Nobody disagrees that the video is moving: a son talking about his late mother, someone he never met. But, what people find disturbing is the fact that it’s a toothpaste ad.

Prateik’s video is a Colgate commercial. “The Boy Who Learnt to Smile | Colgate Strong Teeth - 24 Hour Cavity Protection,” says the YouTube caption. Comments have been turned off on YouTube.

For the unversed, Prateik's nana shown in the photograph is none other than legendary filmmaker Mrinal Sen. Smita Patil worked in Sen's Akaler Shandhaney, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in 1981.

Social Media Reactions

“An advertisement that makes you teary and yet smile … you say ‘ must see the Colgate film’! What a thought and how well executed!!” commented a social media user.

“What a beautiful, beautiful advertisement. It didn’t feel like an ad but a small documentary of sorts,” commented another user.

Another user exclaimed, “I broke into tears. Maybe it’s an advertisement, but it percolates deep inside.”

“This is no small ad. This is art,” came from another.

But, not everybody was impressed with the ad.

“Emotional angle always works for an ad,” wrote one user.

“So much that I hate the concept of selling toothpaste like this, still love the beauty of the video,” posted another user.

One user wrote, “I love the whole short film. Didn’t like they used her and his emotion for Colgate.”

“Jeezzz...it was sweet till Colgate. in bad taste,” wrote one user.