A decade-old moment of support from Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan for fellow actor Rajpal Yadav has resurfaced as the latter faces fresh legal and financial turmoil in 2026.
At the 2012 music launch event for Ata Pata Laapata, Amitabh Bachchan made a special appearance to praise Rajpal Yadav’s dedication and perseverance in the film industry, acknowledging the challenges he had faced early in his career.
“I feel very honoured that Rajpal has invited me here today and I have had the good fortune of working with him in the past,” Amitabh Bachchan said, highlighting his respect for Rajpal’s work.
The warm words from Big B — one of Bollywood’s most respected figures — were a rare public endorsement for Rajpal Yadav at a time when his directorial debut Ata Pata Laapata struggled to make an impact at the box office.
That film’s poor performance eventually contributed to the financial strain that has shadowed Yadav for years.
Fast forward to 2026, and Rajpal Yadav is in the spotlight for very different reasons. A loan of Rs 5 crore he took in 2010 to finance ‘Ata Pata Laapata’ reportedly spiralled into a long-running legal battle after the film failed commercially, leaving him unable to repay the amount.
In 2018, a magistrate’s court convicted Rajpal and his wife and sentenced them to six months’ imprisonment, but the Bhool Bhulaiyaa actor repeatedly appealed and delayed his surrender by seeking extensions from the courts.
Over time, interest and penalties increased the outstanding liability to nearly Rs 9 crore, spread across seven separate cheque-bounce cases.
Despite partial repayments, including Rs 75 lakh in 2025, Rajpal Yadav failed to meet court-imposed deadlines for clearing the dues.
The Delhi High Court ruled in early February 2026 that it would no longer grant further extensions, emphasising that leniency could not be continued indefinitely, regardless of the actor’s celebrity status.
The court ordered him to surrender to jail authorities to serve his sentence.
On 5th February, Rajpal Yadav surrendered at Tihar Jail to begin serving a six-month sentence related to the cheque-bounce cases.
Before surrendering, Rajpal Yadav made an emotional statement saying he had no money and felt alone in the crisis reflecting the deep personal and professional toll of his prolonged legal ordeal.
“Sir, kya karoon? Mere paas paise nahin hain. Aur koi upaay nahin dikhta. Sir, yahan hum sab akele hain. There are no friends. I have to deal with this crisis on my own.”
On the professional front, Rajpal Yadav was last seen in films such as Baby John and Interrogation.
He will be next seen in Akshay Kumar’s horror-comedy Bhooth Bangla, which is going to release on April 10.
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