‘Kiki Challenge’ comes to city, people mindful of safety hazards

The challenge involves people getting out of a moving car, and dancing on the road while the car keeps going forward to the song’s sync, and then quickly climbing back in again. Online comedian Shiggy has been credited with the first one to perform the ‘Kiki Challenge’, though he notably didn’t do it out of a car in motion.

The last week witnessed millions of videos crop up (the most popular among them being Hollywood actor Will Smith dancing atop a bridge in Budapest no less) and its virality reached India as well, with several youngsters and celebrities give it a shot.

In Chennai, actress and fitness expert Ramya Subramanian was among the first to post a video on Instagram of her dancing. “But my car was stationary! I made sure that I didn’t want to advocate any kind of rash behaviour from people who follow me on social media. I’ve also been noticing that many have been injured or gotten into serious accidents because of doing this amidst traffic. While it is a fun challenge to take up among the many serious ones that keep cropping up, safety should be the priority,” she said.

Indeed, the viral craze has seen its fair share of mishaps – from people running into poles and traffic signals while dancing to not noticing incoming vehicles. Law enforcement worldwide has issued stern warnings, most recently from the Mumbai Police Twitter account, which posted a video with the caption, “Not just a risk for you but your act can put life of others at risk too. Desist from public nuisance or face the music! #DanceYourWayToSafety #InMySafetyFeelingsChallenge”

But, people are mindful of the consequences. A yoga instructor and fashion blogger Ruchi Raj, who also tried her hand at the challenge, said “We shot the video at a small road in my colony, where the traffic flow is minimal. My friend Om was driving the car and shot it for a few seconds, and we didn’t cause inconvenience to anyone.”