- Rajpal Yadav surrendered and was sent to Tihar Jail over ₹9 crore loan non-payment
- He was granted interim bail until March 18 after depositing ₹1.5 crore
- Yadav claimed losses of ₹17 crore related to his directorial film Ata Pata Laapata
Popular actor Rajpal Yadav was sent to Tihar Jail after surrendering on February 5 over non-payment of loans worth around ₹9 crore. The actor was granted interim bail until March 18.
The court later said Rajpal would not be sent back to jail as he had deposited a substantial amount. In a new interview, Rajpal Yadav addressed the public perception that he had the money but chose jail over paying the loan.
Dismissing this perception, Rajpal said the issue is far more complicated than it seems or than people have made it out to be. The actor claimed he had incurred losses amounting to ₹17 crore in the whole process. Questioning the intention of the producer who accused him of taking loans and not paying them back, Rajpal Yadav said he would fight till the end.
Rajpal Yadav said the dispute was not over non-payment of ₹5 crore.
“This is exactly the point of my case, it's not about not being able to pay ₹5 crore. It's too early to speak on why I went to jail or whether I have the money or not. Had it just been a matter of ₹5 crore, it would have been resolved in 2012 itself, but because of this ₹5 crore, I have incurred losses of ₹17 crore. At that time, the matter was not in court, when the person jeopardised my film worth ₹17 crore. After this person saw 70 percent of the film, he invested another ₹5 crore,” Rajpal Yadav said in a chat with Shubhankar Mishra on his YouTube channel.
He explained the issue in detail: “₹5–7 crore were to be spent on the film's release, and the total production budget of the film was ₹22 crore. Even if you are an enemy, you would not stop the project from releasing, especially when 10 others have also invested money in it. We have been talking about the intention behind giving this ₹5 crore, and my intention was good. What was my fault?”
The actor also claimed that if a film flopped, it did not mean fraud had been committed.
Talking about his directorial, Ata Pata Laapata, which set the chain of events in motion, he said that the producer did not let him release the film, causing heavy losses.
“A film that was supposed to release on over 1,000 screens, whose music album was inaugurated by Amitabh Bachchan, was not even allowed to sustain for three days. He sank ₹22 crore by just doing a press conference; his intention was bad, which cost me ₹22 crore,” Yadav said.
“Since the last 10 years, I have been saying the same thing. The film had 200 artists, including Dara Singhji, but he made it an issue as if I owed him ₹50 crore and absconded with it. When he already had post-dated cheques, then why did he bring a stay order on the film's release? Soon after the High Court rejected their stay order, this party went and held an accusatory press conference. Because of this, the film could not be released on 200 screens either. I will keep fighting with him all my life over this intention; I won't go in for a settlement,” Rajpal concluded.
The Case
According to PTI, the legal trouble started in 2010 when Rajpal Yadav borrowed ₹5 crore from M/s Murali Projects Pvt Ltd to finance his directorial debut, Ata Pata Laapata. The film failed at the box office, leading to major financial losses.
Over time, interest, penalties, and delayed payments caused the outstanding amount to rise to nearly ₹9 crore.
To settle the dues, Rajpal Yadav issued multiple cheques to the lender. However, these cheques were dishonoured, triggering criminal proceedings under the Negotiable Instruments Act.
Rajpal Yadav was released from Tihar Jail on February 17 after depositing ₹1.5 crore in connection with the ₹9 crore cheque-bounce case. He had surrendered on February 5 after the Delhi High Court rejected his plea seeking additional time to repay the amount.
