Priyadarshan on Rajpal Yadav's arrest: He fell for the wrong advice

Director Priyadarshan addresses Rajpal Yadav’s recent legal trouble, after the actor was jailed in a case related to unpaid debts. The filmmaker said he was aware that Yadav had been dealing with financial strain but chose not to discuss it publicly.Speaking about their last conversation and Yadav’s situation, Priyadarshan who’s first film with the actor was Malamaal Weekly (2006), shared, “We never spoke a lot about all these issues, but I knew about the problem. He told me he is repaying the debt as the money comes in.”Priyadarshan said, “Rajpal is in my films, Bhooth Bangla, Haiwaan, and in my next with Pankaj Tripathi. I have even asked the producers of that film to up his remuneration so that will help the situation.

That’s the best thing we can do for him at this point.”When asked if he ever tried guiding Yadav financially, the director admitted he doesn’t consider himself qualified to advise on investments. “No. Even I am bad at investing money, so I am in no place to advise someone. Sometimes people give you wrong advice, and I believe Rajpal fell for that. Once the damage is done, you somehow have to get out of it,” he said. Priyadarshan also clarified that Yadav did not reach out to him before his jail term.

“He never called me because I have sent him the shoot dates. That’s all I remember. And he said, ‘I’m doing the film’. Then all this happened,” he shared. On a parting note, the filmmaker expressed hope that the situation resolves and that Yadav returns to work. “I hope he is released soon. I have a very good role for him. It will be difficult for me to get someone to replace him because I kept him in my mind and wrote the part,” he said.Yadav surrendered in Tihar Jail on February 5 after the Delhi HC declined to grant him more time in long-pending cheque bounce cases. According to Yadav’s lawyer Bhaskar Upadhyay, the actor has paid Rs 2.5 crore in the Rs 9-crore cheque bounce-case.