Complaint has been lodged against 19-year-old Bigg Boss contestant Niveditha Gowda in Bengaluru by Kannada activist for promoting a dangerous act. However, other actors say they will try it, but with caution
BENGALURU: The viral Kiki Challenge, which has people dancing alongside a (slow) moving car to a song by an American rapper Drake, has landed actor Niveditha in trouble. Her video on Instagram was widely shared, but it invited a complaint registered at Bengaluru's Halasuru Police Station and the ire of traffic police in Mysuru, the city from which the Big Boss contestant is.
Nagesh, a Kannada activist, filed the complaint in Bengaluru for promoting a dangerous act. The 19-year-old has since deleted the post and apologised for it. "It was a global challenge and I meant no harm," she says, adding that no one should attempt this challenge since it is not safe. Meanwhile, actors Sanjjanaa and Samyukta Horanad have said that they may have a go at the Kiki Challenge too.
The traffic police in Bengaluru are yet to act on the complaint but the cops in Mysuru are angry with the actor for setting a poor example.
Her mother Hema says that actor is "too young to understand the consequences of her actions". She adds, "She showed me the video after filming it. I did not see any danger in it as the vehicle is moving slowly on an empty road". Niveditha says that the car was moving at less than 20 km/hour.
In Bengaluru, DCP Traffic Police East, Anupam Agarwal, says that only when the vehicle is moving and the public faces a nuisance from it will action be taken. "If they are doing it inside a private property, then we can't do anything," he says. The Traffic Commissioner R Hithendra says that he is not aware of such a challenge and therefore cannot comment on Niveditha's actions.
The traffic cops in Mysuru sound more peeved. "It is wrong to do such things on the public road. She is putting herself at risk and could put other road users too at risk by distracting them," says Devaraja Traffic Police Inspector L Srinivas. "With many people, especially youngsters, following her, there are chances of people imitating her," he adds.
Regular road users sound more forgiving. IT professional, Ashok, says that it is all much ado about nothing. "It is an innocent form of expression. When many violent and objectionable messages are being spread otherwise unchecked, why are people worried about this. Authorities should concern themselves with people being killed because of false news spreading through social media," he says.
Bhumika, who works in a media company, says that Niveditha is being unfairly targeted. "The other day, a police sub-inspector from Chikkamagaluru posted a video of his son performing the challenge. Why wasn't he booked," she asks.
Parents should sensitise their children about the dangers of this, tweeted former CM Siddaramaiah, joining into the conversation. The tweet read: "We have nothing against social media fads as long as they don't become a public nuisance and put the lives of people at risk".
Who started the challenge?
Kiki Challenge, also called the Shiggy Challenge, was created by comedian and Instagram star Shiggy. On June 30, he posted the first-ever challenge video. What's interesting to note is that Shiigy's original video didn't involve him getting out of a moving car and dancing, he was simply dancing on the roadside.