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Rajpal Yadav has been at the centre of attention ever since he surrendered to Tihar Jail in connection with a 2012 debt case, claiming he did not have the funds to repay the amount. After spending nearly two weeks behind bars, the actor was granted interim bail until March 18 after depositing Rs 1.5 crore. According to businessman Madhav Gopal Agarwal, Yadav had taken a loan from him for his directorial debut, Ata Pata Lapata. However, Yadav has long maintained that the amount was an investment, not a loan. The dispute eventually escalated into a legal battle, with Agarwal alleging that the actor now owes him Rs 9 crore, including interest.
Rajpal Yadav says the deal was “ghar ka maamla”
Addressing the controversy at a press conference today, Yadav stated that the deal was verbal and based on trust, describing it as a “ghar ka maamla” (a personal matter). He claimed he had promised to return Rs 8 crore after the film’s release.
He further revealed that no lawyer was involved when the agreement was made. “When the deal happened, Bhaskar ji (Rajpal’s lawyer) wasn’t in the picture. I have worked in over 250 films. If I look back at those agreements, every contract will have some loophole. When this deal took place, I never imagined it would be dragged to court. This fight is an ego clash. The person wants me to fall at his feet in return for Rs 5 crore. He doesn’t want money. If it was for money, I am ready to pay since 2013. The money came to me first. I went to the Laxmi Nagar office and blindly signed the papers without reading them. I did make a mistake there,” he said.
“Lawyers were not involved”
Yadav added, “Because it was a ‘ghar ka maamla’, I didn’t involve lawyers. Sometimes, you trust people’s words and relationships more than paperwork. In my mind, I thought — a man whose net worth is between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,500 crore gave me Rs 5 crore within minutes on a single phone call; why would he ever file a case against me? There was no lawyer involved, and not even my wife was aware. What we had agreed upon was that after the film’s release, he would receive Rs 8 crore instead of Rs 5 crore, and whatever remained would be mine. The film earned Rs 1 crore…”
Before Yadav could complete his statement, he was interrupted by his advocate. The lawyer then took over and said: “If you say that trusting that man was a mistake, then Rajpal Yadav has made that mistake.”
What Madhav Gopal Agarwal claimed
Earlier, speaking to the media, Agarwal said he had arranged funds to support Yadav’s directorial debut more than a decade ago. He claimed he advanced Rs 5 crore in 2010 after being informed that the project was nearing completion and urgently required financial backing, or else “everything would go to waste.”
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In an interview with News Punch, the Delhi-based businessman asserted that the money was extended strictly as a loan, not an investment, and that he had borrowed the funds himself to facilitate the transaction.
However, in a separate interview with Lallantop, Yadav contended that Agarwal had invested the money with the intention of launching his grandson as the lead actor in future films. “If it was a loan, I would have paid interest. But I never did,” said the actor.
Rajpal marked his directorial debut with Ata Pata Lapata. The film, reportedly made on an alleged budget of Rs 11 crore, managed to earn only Rs 38 lakh at the box office, according to Bollywood Hungama.
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