Ram Pothineni's recent release, iSmart Shankar wass under the scanner of the State Anti Tobacco Cell, Directorate of Health and Family Welfare, Karnataka. This is because the official poster of iSmart Shankar shows the lead, Ram Pothineni smoking a cigar. Apparently it was cited in the notice addressed to the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce as a violation of The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) 2003 rules. So the Anto Tobacco Cell has intimated the chamber that they would want to ensure that violating the COTPA will not be permitted and their need to conduct a sensitization workshop. In return, the chamber has reportedly responded by stating that they had sent across a circular to the directors', actors' and distributors' associations, reiterating that they should not be violating the aforementioned law.
Ram Pothineni

iSmart Shankar is a recently released 2019 science fiction action film, written and directed by Puri Jagannath and produced by himself and Charmme Kaur, with music composed by Mani Sharma. The movie, iSmart Shankar is said to be loosely inspired from the Hollywood movie, iBoy.
iSmart Shankar official poster
Ram Pothineni still