CHENNAI: Director Shankar’s 2.o, starring actors Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar , has run into controversy just ahead its worldwide release with the cellular network operators filing a complaint against the movie for promoting “obscurantist and anti-scientific attitudes against mobile phones, towers and mobile services."The Cellular Association of India also argued that the movie was against “public interest,” and that it was “defamatory” of its members and violates their constitutional rights. The complaint has been filed with the Central Board of Film Certification and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.In the complaint filed by the COAI on November 23, the association argues that 2.o falsely depicts “mobile phones and mobile towers as harmful to living creatures and the environment including birds and human beings on account of electromagnetic field (EMF) emissions from them.”The Association has called for the “recall and revocation” of the certification granted to the movie. It has also sought the suspension of the exhibition of the movie till its complaint is addressed by the CBFC and the Central Government.A spokesperson from COAI confirmed with ET that a complaint has been sent to the Chairperson of CBFC and the Minsitry of Information and Broadcasting. Contacted to get a response on the complaint, Rajan S Mathews, Director General of COAI, told ET: “We do have a concern about the kind of impression the movie would have on the general public.”The COAI, which identifies itself as the “voice of the Indian Telecom Industry” has as its members Bharti Airtel , Vodafone and Reliance Jio , which constitute over 90% of the telecom business in the country. The organisation is expected to put out a statement on its demand for revoking 2.o’s certification.Produced by Lyca movies, 2.o drew an investment of over Rs 500 crore, according to Rajinikanth in his speech during one of the pre-launch promotions of the movie. It has recurring characters from the earlier movie Enthiran, produced by the Maran family-owned Sun Pictures . The 2.o movie was written by Shankar and writer B Jeyamohan.