Power Star Pawan Kalyan made his directorial debut with the 2003 film Johnny. When it was in the production stage, he also announced his second directorial film, Satyagrahi. AM Ratnam was the producer of this project. AR Rahman was signed up as the music director. The film was announced in a grand way and a few posters were also released.

But for some reason best known to the makers, the film got shelved. It was rumoured that Pawan wanted to make a full-on political film but the producer didn't want to risk going against the political leaders. It was said that the creative differences between Pawan and Ratnam led to the scrapping of Satyagrahi.

Finally, AM Ratnam revealed the reason behind shelving the film. He said that Pawan was hugely disappointed by Johnny's result. He felt that Telugu audiences aren't liking his directorial skills. Apparently, he didn't want to risk the producer's money by making Satyagrahi. That's why he shelved it. After a long gap, Pawan and Ratnam teamed up once again for the film Hari Hara Veera Mallu. Directed by Krish Jagarlamudi, this film will hit the screens in 2023.