Mahesh Babu and a star director were supposed to team up for a film titled 'Krishna Mukunda Murari' in the early 2010s. But the project didn't take off. The director is Vamsi Paidipally, who delivered 'Maharshi' in 2019.

Speaking with Nandamuri Balakrishna on AHA's Unstoppable, Paidipally said, "There was a time when I was arrogant and used to think that I will become a star director with just one film. I made some missteps. 'Brindavanam' and 'Yevadu' were big commercial hits. That's when I narrated a script titled 'Krishna Mukunda Murari' to Mahesh garu. But the project didn't take off."

He added, "This is when I watched 'The Intouchables' (French) and decided to remake it with Nagarjuna garu as 'Oopiri'. It was challenging and I was scared as to whether it would be accepted by the audience. The confidence that 'Oopiri' gave me made me take up a subject like 'Maharshi'," Paidipally added.

Mahesh was the main guest of the show. He said that awards are a mere bonus and the actual award is when the audience accepts a movie.