Jassie Gift’s long forgotten song is now all over the internet. ‘Nillu Nillu’, a song the singer-musician sang for a 2004 film called Rain Rain Come Again is now used for what looks like a pretty dangerous challenge by young people on the streets of Kerala.
The challenge involves a group of people – mostly youngsters – jumping in front of moving vehicles or people and then dancing to the Nillu Nillu song, carrying for some reason, dried palm leaves in their hands or wearing a helmet. This would be captured on the Tik Tok app as a funny video which would be then spread on social media. From the videos going viral, it looks like most of the stopping of vehicles and dancing are between friends, not random ones on the road.
The challenge has suddenly caught on and actors like Vishnu Unnikrishnan too have joined in by posting a video from his film Kattappanayile Rithwik Roshan where he dances with another actor on the road.
But it still seems dangerous enough for the Kerala Police to have have posted a warning on their social media feeds, using a video to do so.
“Do not invite accidents, let’s not have dangerous imitations,” begins the post. Like Facebook and Whatsapp the video broadcasting app Tik Tok is becoming popular among children and young people, the post says and then goes on to describe the Nillu Nillu challenge.
“If at first they stopped the two-wheelers, later it became private vehicles and four wheelers. They are even jumping in front of fast-running buses. The new generation tends to imitate anything dangerous to get noticed on social media. They do not think of a situation when the vehicle could not apply brakes suddenly or the danger if the vehicle suddenly swerves or the mental state of the driver. You can never justify such jokes that could end up in big disasters,” the post says.
Jassie Gift, whose song has suddenly become popular again, says it is a pleasant surprise after 14 years. “As a fun element, it is okay, but should move away from being dangerous,” the musician tells TNM.
The Nillu Nillu challenge comes close on the heels of another equally dangerous challenge called Kiki, where people got out of moving cars, danced, and got back in.