I learnt survival: Raj Kundra recalls 2021 arrest, 63 days in jail

Businessman-turned-actor Raj Kundra has spoken about what he described as one of the toughest periods of his life, looking back on his 2021 arrest in the pornography case, the 63 days he spent in Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail and the support he received from his wife, actor Shilpa Shetty. In a recent interview with, Kundra also spoke about the prison conditions he faced, the effect of reports about his marriage and why he now sees that period as a fresh start.Speaking to ABP News, Kundra said the arrest came as a shock to him. He said he had gone to the police station after being called for questioning and only learnt that he had been arrested after seeing a post on X while still inside the station. He also said Shetty came to know about it through news reports and was left to deal with the legal and business fallout on her own.Recalling the day of his arrest, Kundra said, "I was called to the police station for questioning and I went there without doubting anything. While I was there, I read on X that I had been arrested. When I asked the police officer, he said, “Yes, this is the order.”’He said Shetty immediately arranged for legal help but was also under immense pressure, as his businesses in India employed around 4,000 people at the time. Kundra recalled that she learnt about his arrest through the news and managed to get the best lawyers, but was unsure how she would handle everything. He said Shetty kept asking, “How will I manage all this?” while he was told he would have to spend 63 days in jail, although he had no idea how long the ordeal would actually last.According to Kundra, Shetty eventually decided to shut down the businesses overnight rather than try to manage them amid the crisis. He described his time at Arthur Road Jail as extremely difficult, particularly because of the overcrowding. Recalling the conditions, he said a room meant for around 50 people had 250 inmates, with people sleeping one above another and barely enough space to stand.He also spoke about the food in jail, describing it as extremely poor. Kundra recalled that five or six inmates would share a pot containing what he described as mostly water with lentils that were difficult to identify. Some prisoners would buy farsan from the jail shop and mix it with hot water and spices to make it more palatable.Kundra said he struggled to eat during his 63 days in custody and mostly survived on Parle-G biscuits and water. He claimed he lost around 17-18 kg during that period and came out “frail and skinny”. Looking back, he described the experience as a lesson in survival.Kundra also recalled being deeply affected by a report he heard in jail claiming that Shetty was planning to leave him. He later learnt that the report was only a rumour, but said it left him devastated at the time. He admitted that he could not sleep that night and felt there was no point in living without his wife and family. “I felt like ending my life,” he recalled.Kundra said a phone call with Shetty the next day changed his state of mind. "The next day, I spoke to her on the phone. She said, 'This is rubbish news. I am with you. I trust you. Don’t worry about it.' After that call, I got so much courage. I thought, 'Break whatever you want to break. My wife is with me. I can take on the world. I don’t care,'" he said. He also spoke about how suddenly his life had changed. ‘My mind wasn’t even working. I was an IPL team owner one day and suddenly I was put behind bars. When I came out, I was the happiest because I felt I had a fresh new start,’ he said.Kundra said Shetty later told him she sometimes felt his time in jail may have pushed him towards a long-held wish to become an actor. ‘She says that sometimes she feels I had so much desire to become an actor that perhaps I had to go to jail to come out and become an actor,’ he said. Kundra has since moved into acting, beginning a new phase in his career after the controversy and legal proceedings linked to his 2021 arrest. Kundra was arrested by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch on July 19, 2021, in a case linked to the alleged production and distribution of pornographic content through mobile applications. Police alleged that his company, Armsprime Media, had developed the Hotshots app, which was allegedly used to stream adult and pornographic content. Kundra has denied wrongdoing and said he was not actively involved in creating the alleged content.The Mumbai Crime Branch later filed a supplementary chargesheet of nearly 1,500 pages. While police described him as a key facilitator in the alleged racket, his legal team disputed claims of his active involvement in content creation and argued that the videos had been shot with the performers’ consent. He spent about two months in custody before a Mumbai magistrate granted him bail in September 2021.- EndsPublished By: shweta keshriPublished On: Aug 19, 2026 13:04 IST