‘I CRIED TO GET MY MONEY BACK FROM RAJPAL’

Businessman Madhav Gopal Agarwal on asking actor Rajpal Yadav for repayment of Rs. 5 crore; reveals borrowing money from bank for the loan
HINDUSTAN TIMES (February 19, 2026)

As Rajpal Yadav walked out of the Tihar Jail on Tuesday, thanks to the Delhi High Court granting him interim bail till March 18, he thanked the country and his industry for their support. “I will complete 30 years in Bollywood, in Mumbai in 2027. People from all over the country, children, old and young, are with me... The way the entire country and the world, my Bollywood has loved me... If there are any allegations against me, I am available to answer. Thank you High Court,” he told ANI on Tuesday.

But narrating the account from the other end, businessman Madhav Gopal Agarwal, who loaned Rajpal Rs. 5 crore, has revealed the years-long ordeal of trying to get his money back in an interview with News Pinch.

Agarwal said that he met the actor back in 2010 through MP Mithilesh Kumar Katheria. During the meeting, Rajpal said if he didn’t receive immediate funding for his directorial debut, Ata Pata Laapata (2012), “everything will go to waste”. While Agarwal was initially hesitant, he claimed that Rajpal’s wife Radha contacted him several times over five days requesting help, which emotionally pressured him into loaning them the money under a formal agreement.

However, the repayment dates were missed by Rajpal, with supplementary agreements and new cheques with revised dates being issued three times over the next two years.

When veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan launched the film’s music, Agarwal realized that the film negatives and earnings were meant to be handed over once the project was completed. Worried about recovering his money, he approached the court and temporarily stayed the film’s release. Rajpal maintained that he would repay the loan after the film was released, after which the court stay was lifted. However, the film’s box office failure made the situation worse.

By 2013, with no solution in sight, Agarwal returned to court. Judicial intervention resulted in a settlement amount of Rs. 10.4 crore. Although several cheques were submitted by the actor, all were later dishonoured.
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“During the mediation in 2015, I even said, please give my money in one go and we will forget everything that happened. But Rajpal said he could not pay it in one go. I even went to his house in Mumbai three or four times. Twice, I literally cried like a child because I had also borrowed money from someone else. We are also paying interest to the bank.”

Madhav Gopal Agarwal, Businessman
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Rajpal Yadav’s lawyer speaks to us

Akash Bhatnagar (HINDUSTAN TIMES; February 19, 2026)

Advocate Bhaskar Upadhyay, who is representing actor Rajpal Yadav in the Rs. 9 crore cheque-bounce case, speaks to use after Rajpal’s release from jail.

“We told the court that our previous conducts were due to miscommunication, and we gave enough money to fulfil our commitment (Rs. 2.25 crores). The judge also realized that it’s necessary to listen to our side and have asked for Rajpal ji’s presence in the next hearing on March 18. Our contention is just that our side be listened to. The court asked us about the pending amount and we said that we just want the court to take our case based on merit and give us liberty to speak our side. And the court agreed. The next course of action will now be decided on the next hearing,” he says.

He had earlier told HT City that Rajpal will be holding a press conference to address speculation and queries around the case.