Days after securing interim bail in a Rs. 9 crore loan case, actor-comedian Rajpal Yadav addressed the media in Mumbai on Saturday. He arrived with his lawyer, Bhaskar Upadhyay, and spoke about the scale of his upcoming work: “Over the next seven years, I have branding projects valued at Rs. 1,200 crore. I’ve secured four agreements, which don’t include films. Some of these projects are worth Rs. 200 crore, while others go up to Rs. 2,000 crore. The income is a mix of fees and equity. I also have 10 films lined up.”

Addressing the ongoing legal dispute, Rajpal described the agreement as a “ghar ka maamla” (a personal matter) based on trust.

“When the deal happened, Bhaskar ji wasn’t in the picture. I have worked in over 250 films. If I look back, every contract will have some loophole. I never imagined this would reach court. This fight is an ego clash. The person wants me to fall at his feet in return for Rs. 5 crore. If it was about money, I have been ready to pay since 2013,” he said. The actor admitted he “signed documents without reading” them.

The dispute dates back to 2010, when Rajpal took a Rs. 5 crore loan from Delhi-based Murali Projects Pvt Ltd to finance his directorial debut Ata Pata Laapata (2012). After the film failed, repayment issues followed. In April 2018, a Magisterial Court convicted Rajpal and his wife Radha under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act after seven cheques bounced. He was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, a conviction later upheld by a Sessions Court in 2019.

In October 2025, the court noted that while Rajpal had deposited Rs. 75 lakh, most of the liability remained unpaid. He surrendered at Tihar Jail on February 5 after the Delhi High Court declined further relief in the long-pending cheque bounce case. He has since been granted interim bail till March 18.

Days after actor Rajpal Yadav walked out of Tihar Jail on interim bail on Tuesday in a cheque-bounce case linked to his directorial debut Ata Pata Laapata (2012), his legal team has offered a fresh perspective on the long-running dispute. Advocate Bhaskar Upadhyay claims the matter escalated after businessman Madhav Gopal Agarwal allegedly took offence during the film’s music launch event. 

According to Upadhyay, multiple agreements were signed between the parties until August 2012, with repayments scheduled to begin later that year. However, tensions reportedly surfaced at the September music launch, which was attended by Amitabh Bachchan.

“The complainant wanted to share the stage with Mr Bachchan, but Rajpal’s team declined as Mr Bachchan was not taking any favours for his presence. The complainant got annoyed and moved the Delhi High Court seeking a stay on the film,” Upadhyay tells us.

The lawyer adds that the dispute was later settled through a consent agreement in 2013, followed by a consent decree in 2016, under which Rs. 10.4 crore became payable. An execution petition was filed the same year, and Rs. 1.9 crore was subsequently paid.

Upadhyay further alleges that despite a guarantor offering property worth Rs. 15 crore as surety — documents of which are with HT City — the complainant refused and instead sought imprisonment.

The matter remains sub judice, with Rajpal’s team expected to present new points at the March 18 hearing.

Meanwhile, Rajpal Yadav, currently in his ancestral village in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, told PTI that prisons should have “designated smoking areas, similar to railway stations and airports”. He added that jails should function as reform centres where inmates get structured opportunities to change.

Rajpal Yadav was granted bail on Monday. Speaking to Mumbai Mirror, soon after the order, his lawyer Bhaskar Upadhyay said it was “not easy at all” to secure bail. According to him, the dispute stems from agreements signed over a decade ago related to Yadav’s 2010 production venture. Over time, multiple contracts, a consent decree, and subsequent proceedings created what he termed a “layered and confusing situation.”

Talking about Yadav, Upadhyay said, “He is not a lawyer; he doesn’t understand technicalities. He is an actor, a family man. Whenever the court asked, he simply said, Whatever I owe, I will pay,” he shared, adding, “He himself had a lot at stake in that project. It’s not like he walked away unaffected,” Upadhyay said.

Upadhyay also claims that the complainaint was more keen to see Yadav imprisoned. “If it was only about money, they could have taken the security. But there was a malicious intent. The complainant said that 'We don't want this and just kindly execute the decree by sending him in jail'. This was categorically said by the complainants. If it was the issue of a money only then they must have taken the surety. He had given his original property documents. He surrendered it before the court stating the value of my property is more than 40 crores," he said.

So far, a portion of the dues has been paid. Upadhyay confirmed that Rs 2.5 crore has been arranged toward the larger amount under discussion.

“He is trying, within his capacity, to honour what he has committed,” he said, adding, "For him he was in the impression that that money was 5 crores. He has to pay back 5 crores. He never disputed that amount. But he just wanted the code to clarify. What about that money? Because this 5 crores was invested by the complainant in that movie, not given a personal loan to him for his personal needs."

There has also been chatter in industry circles about fellow film personalities stepping in to help. While not naming anyone, the lawyer acknowledged that people have come forward in Yadav’s difficult time. 

“Many are helping in his odd hours. The specifics are for him to share when the time is right,” he said.

Through it all, Yadav has remained mentally resilient, his lawyer claimed. “He is strong. He says he will comply with court directions. His only request is that his side be properly heard,” Upadhyay said.

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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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.