Director Teja was a trend-setter in the early 2000s. His Chitram, Nuvvu Nenu, and Jayam were rock-solid hits.
The filmmaker, however, made some foolish decisions due to his extreme kindness and professionalism. After Chitram became a commercial hit, he was flooded with offers. Anybody else would have demanded a fat paycheck. But he didn't do that. For Nuvvu Nenu, he was offered Rs 1 Cr as remuneration. He told the producer to pay him just Rs 50 lakh before the movie's release and the rest only if the movie became a big hit.
"I was not paid even that Rs 50 lakh in full. I was paid Rs 5 lakh as an advance first. On the movie's release date, I was supposed to be paid the rest Rs 45 lakh. That amount was paid to me after a delay and much dithering. I was the kind of person who used to be content with what I had," Teja once said, suggesting that he shouldn't have been like that. He didn't receive the rest Rs 50 lakh even though Nuvvu Nenu was a big hit.
Jayam, which he both directed and produced, became a monster hit in 2002. He gifted 11 apartment flats to his team out of gratitude to them. No other producer had done such a thing before him.
In the late 2000s, Teja faced extreme financial stress when his infant son faced terminal illness and had to be taken to Germany for advanced medical treatment. At that time, he mortgaged his Hyderabad residence for Rs 3 Cr.
