Rajpal Yadav is known for making audiences laugh with his comic timing and memorable supporting roles in Bollywood films. For years, he has been a familiar face on the big screen but recently, his name has been in the headlines for a legal battle instead of a film release.
The actor is now set to walk out of Tihar Jail after the Delhi High Court granted him interim bail in a long-running ₹9-crore debt case.
After the court’s decision, businessman Madhav Gopal Agrawal, who claims he lent ₹5 crore to Rajpal Yadav, has spoken publicly about the dispute for the first time. In an interview, he explained how their association began and how the matter turned into a legal fight that has lasted over a decade.
Madhav Gopal Agrawal, a director at Murali Projects Pvt Ltd, said he first met Rajpal Yadav through former MP Mithilesh Kumar Katheria.
According to Madhav Gopal Agrawal, Rajpal Yadav approached him in 2012 for financial help for his film Ata Pata Laapata. The actor reportedly said the film was almost complete but urgently needed funds to avoid being stalled.
Madhav Gopal Agrawal maintains that the money was given strictly as a loan, not as an investment. The agreement, he says, clearly mentioned a fixed repayment amount and timeline. The repayment was not linked to the film’s release, censor approval or box office success. He also claims that Rajpal Yadav provided a personal guarantee.
However, when the repayment was delayed, Madhav Gopal Agrawal says he repeatedly tried to contact the actor. He has described how he personally met Rajpal Yadav several times, explaining that he himself had borrowed money from others to arrange the funds. He said he cried like a child in front of Rajpal Yadav for his money and kept requesting clarity on when the money would be returned or asked for a revised repayment plan.
Madhav Gopal Agrawal also alleged that when he initially refused to provide additional funds, Rajpal Yadav’s wife Radha reached out to him with emotional appeals, after which he agreed to continue supporting the project.
The situation escalated when the film’s music was launched by megastar Amitabh Bachchan. Madhav Gopal Agrawal says he then realised that, as per the agreement, certain rights and proceeds were supposed to be handed over after the film’s completion. Feeling that the terms were not being followed, he approached the court, which led to a temporary stay on the film’s release.
The stay was later lifted after Rajpal Yadav reportedly assured him that the outstanding dues would be cleared after the film’s release. However, the film failed at the box office and according to Madhav Gopal Agrawal, the promised payments never came.
In 2013, he again moved to the court. A settlement amount of ₹10.40 crore was agreed upon. But Madhav Gopal Agrawal claims that although multiple cheques were issued to him, all of them were dishonoured.
He said that he has no interest in damaging anyone’s career and only wants his money back. However, after repeated payment failures, he felt he had no choice but to continue legal action.
The case has continued for years, eventually leading to Rajpal Yadav’s imprisonment this year. With the High Court now granting interim relief, the actor is set to be released but the legal dispute that began over a film more than a decade ago is still not fully over.
