The Ice Bucket Challenge, which took the Internet by storm, has caught the fancy of Indian celebs. By Karan Bhardwaj
So what does it take to have an ice bath and show it off on social networking websitesIJ Well, this is the latest ‘it’ thing for Indian celebrities who are busy filling their buckets with ice cubes and pouring it over them, and showing the clip to the world. The icy viral has come from the West where prolific celebs like lady Gaga, Tom Cruise, Taylor Swift, Simon Cowell, David Beckham, Justin Timberlake, Mark Zuckerberg have all taken on this ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’. Basically, the act is being done to create awareness about a disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (AlS). Participants dump a bucket of ice cold water and then nominate (challenge) others to do the same. If they can’t bear the cold water, the alternate escape is to donate $100 to the AlS association.
Back home, from actors, designers, sportspersons to socialites are performing the ‘daring act’ and challenging the colleagues to do the same. The Indian stint got inspired by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who took on the act gladly. Overwhelmed by the attention Nadella drew in India, our publicity-friendly celebs jumped on the bandwagon. Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh, Hansika Motwani, golfer Rehan Poncha and several others have posted their videos. Tennis player Sania Mirza took up this challenge not once but twice. After she uploaded her first attempt online, a few of her followers complained that her bucket didn’t have sufficient water, so she repeated the act further nominating Yuvraj Singh and Mahesh Bhupathi.
However, one wonders if the ‘performers’ actually know the real cause or are just indulging in fun activity. Never mind, it’s definitely a cool way to escape the sweltering heat that has gropped the nation. “Indian celebs are quick to ape Western counterparts. Seeing them filming the act, millions of their followers have started doing the same. It’s a viral on Internet and you never know when somebody takes your name and ask you to bathe in public,” quips an ad guru. So ice mob the next chapter of this challengeIJ The AlS is said to be affecting two people every one lakh of the global population. It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.