Actor Rajpal Yadav has rejected reports mentioning he was sent to Tihar Jail for failing to repay Rs 5 crore in his cheque bounce case, asserting that the dispute led to losses of nearly Rs 22 crore tied to the film’s production.

In February, Yadav was sent to Tihar Jail after the Delhi High Court rejected his plea seeking additional time to repay outstanding dues in a Rs 9 crore cheque bounce case, which stemmed from him borrowing money from a private firm to produce his directorial Ata Pata Laapata.

Addressing public speculation, Rajpal said the situation has been oversimplified. He stressed that the matter involves far more complexity, adding that it is still premature to comment on whether he had the funds at the time.

According to him, the dispute has already resulted in losses of nearly Rs 17 crore, far exceeding the amount in question.

“This is exactly the point of my case, it's not about not being able to pay Rs 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 Rs 5 crore, it would have been resolved in 2012 itself, but because of this Rs 5 crore, I have incurred losses of Rs 17 crore. At that time, the matter was not in court, when the person jeopardised my film worth Rs 17 crore. After this person saw 70 percent of the film, he invested another Rs 5 crore,” Yadav said during an interview with Shubhankar Mishra on his YouTube channel.

Further explaining the situation, the actor said, “Rs 5–7 crore were to be spent on the film's release, and the total production budget of the film was Rs 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 Rs 5 crore, and my intention was good. What was my fault?”

Yadav also said that if a movie flops, it does not indicate that a fraud has been committed.

Opening up about his directorial, Ata Pata Laapata, Yadav said that the producer did not let him release the film, which led to 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 Rs 22 crore by just doing a press conference; his intention was bad, which cost me Rs 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 Rs 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,” he signed off.