actor Rajpal Yadav’s comedy, Ata Pata Laapata, is now the tragedy of his life. Yadav, who starred in over 200 films in his career, made his directorial debut with the satire comedy, Ata Pata Laapata. Released in 2012, the film turned out to be a disaster at the box office, costing Yadav more than he anticipated.
Ata Pata Laapata was directed by and produced by his wife Radha Yadav under the banner of Shree Naurang Godavari Entertainment Ltd.
Ata Pata Laapata featured Rajpal Yadav in the lead alongside Asrani, Om Puri, Ashutosh Rana, Manoj Joshi, Govind Namdev, Dara Singh, Vikram Gokhale, Vijay Raaz and Satyadev Dubey.
The Rajpal Yadav-starrer focuses on a man who files a bizarre police complaint claiming his entire house has been stolen. As authorities suspect him of demolishing his own home in order to claim insurance money, the case catches the media’s attention and quickly becomes a nationwide sensation. Due to public and media pressure, the authorities finally investigate the impossible case. The film highlights the systemic loopholes in governance, bureaucracy, and the other side of people in power.
Reportedly, Yadav also helmed as the music director of the film alongside Sujeet Choubey, Amod Bhatt, and Sukhwinder Singh. He also contributed to the screenplay and dialogues of the production.
Despite its promising team and star cast, the film was largely panned by critics upon release. It was criticised for its weak script, preachiness and lack of clarity in the film.
“The preachiness and repetition bores you to death. Guess the intention was to make a musical satire. Songs seem like fillers, which only add to the length of the movie, but nothing to the story,” reads the film review by Times of India.
At the box office, Ata Pata Laapata failed to recover its money. Reportedly, made on a small budget of ₹11 crore, the film’s first week collection was ₹22.5 lakh and a total footfall of 43,400, reported Box Office India. The movie collected an India gross of ₹34 lakh along with an overseas gross of $15,000, pushing its worldwide gross to ₹42.1 lakh. The film was a disaster at the box office.
On Wednesday, Rajpal Yadav appeared before the Supreme Court in a cheque-bounce case arising from Ata Pata Laapata. He said that the film drained him of ₹22 crore.
“Ata Pata Laapata mein mera ₹17 crore dooba,” he said.
“Yeh Merchant of Venice wala case hai, huzoor. Lekin total ₹22 crore tha. ₹5 crore ne mere ₹17 crore ko 2013 se mitti mein mila diya (This is a Merchant of Venice kind of case, Your Lordship. But the total was ₹22 crore. That ₹5 crore buried my ₹17 crore since 2013.),” he told the bench led by CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana.
The legal dispute involving Rajpal Yadav dates back to 2010. The actor borrowed ₹5 crore from Murali Projects Pvt Ltd to fund his film Ata Pata Laapata. As his film failed, the actor was financially affected. Reportedly, several cheques issued by Yadav towards repayment of the loan were subsequently dishonoured.
As the matter continued for years, the outstanding amount swelled to nearly ₹9 crore, including interest and penalties.
Earlier, he was sent to in this case.
