Mahesh Babu's 2003 release Nijam was a box-office flop. While its songs (composed by RP Patnaik) rumouredly annoyed the Okkadu actor, two other artists had a fallout with director Teja before its theatrical release.
Murali Mohan was roped in for a key role. After shooting 70% of his scenes, Teja showed him the exit door. All his scenes were junked. "Murali Mohan garu's scenes didn't sit well with the tone of the rest of the movie, which is why I decided to reshoot them with some other artist. I approached Srihari, who suggested Prakash Raj's name. Murali Mohan garu disputed my decision and approached industry elders, asking them to take action against me. I was asked to pay Rs 50 lakh as compensation to the Film Nagar Devasthanam. I paid Rs 5 lakh and even after this, my name was removed from the records of the temple," Teja once said in an interview.
The other artist who was upset with Teja was actress Raasi, who was paired up with Gopichand and had a no-makeup negative role in Nijam. "I was made to act in an objectionable scene on day one. I was shocked because that was not part of the script. I called up my PRO and told him I wanted to be excused from the project. The PRO convinced me not to opt out of the project, as I had never done such a thing in the past. Nijam damaged my image among my female audience base. That movie literally finished my career," Raasi once said.
