Prateik, it seems, may need a quick lesson on the art of kissing freely on movie sets from B-Town's renowned serial kisser Emraan Hashmi.
The young actor, we hear, refused to lock lips with co-star Kalki Koechlin in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's My Friend Pinto produced by UTV Motion Pictures.
His fans have sadly lost the golden chance of witnessing his maiden onscreen smooch.
A source reveals, "Kalki plays Prateik's love interest in the movie. There were two scenes in the film that required them to kiss each other.
The director wanted them to smooch rather than the usual peck on the cheek to establish their passion for each other.
While Kalki (who belongs to the school of uninhibited actors) was absolutely cool with the idea, it was Prateik who shied away."
Not often does one hear of Bollywood men turning down the opportunity of kissing their gorgeous leading ladies. It's normally the actresses who've had reservations recent instances.
The source adds, "He expressed his apprehension about locking lips to the director.
He said that he wasn't comfortable kissing Kalki as she was at that time just about to get married to Anurag Kashyap, and he felt a bit odd about kissing the bride-to-be.
Though everyone found his reason quite amusing, they agreed to change the 'lip locks' into pecks on the cheek."
We hope that the Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na actor, who hasn't yet done any intimate scenes onscreen, has not taken a chastity vow.
Raghav Dhar says, "There was never a kiss between Prateik and Kalki, so no question of Prateik refusing it. He has given her two pecks on the cheek in the film."
Missed chances..
Aishwarya Rai refused to kiss Brad Pitt in Troy. Reportedly, Ash declined the film as she wasn't comfortable with the explicit love-making scenes and kisses the script demanded.
Aishwarya Rai refused to lock lips with Hrithik Roshan in Guzaarish after their much-celebrated kiss in Dhoom 2 apparently upset hubby Abhishak Bachchan.
Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif refused to kiss in Yash Raj's Ek Tha Tiger.
Vidya Balan refused to smooch Tushar Kapoor in Ekta Kapoor's The Dirty Picture.
Deepika Padukone refused to kiss Saif Ali Khan in Aarakshan.
Ranbir Kapoor refused to kiss Deepika Padukone in Bachna Aye Haseeno. They had just started dating at that time.
Sonam Kapoor and Imran Khan refused to pucker up in I Hate Luv Stories.
Prachi Desai refused to kiss John Abraham in I, Me Aur Main.