Jimmiki Kammal Malayalam viral song-and-dance video with international impact and adaptations; Power of song-dance videos to spread messages; ISKCON Bangalore flash mob videos

I came to know about this Jimmiki Kammal Malayalam song-dance video after the uproar caused and serious objection taken by some people (perhaps from conservative Muslim organizations) in Kerala to three Muslim college student girls whose heads and bodies were covered but faces were not veiled, dancing to this song in public as a flash mob dance in a Kerala town. The girls are a Dental college's students and their dance was part of a programme on AIDS awareness day. Out of respect for the sentiments of those who found such dancing offensive to their religious traditions I have not provided the link to the short youtube video showing their dance.

The incident happened a few days ago at the beginning of this month (Dec. 2017). Here is an article about it: https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/news/india/kerala-flash-mob-by-muslim-girls-irks-social-media-moral-cops/articleshow/61913030.cms .

The song-and-dance itself is part of a Malayalam movie, with it being released as a promo video for the film in August 2017. It became a runaway hit and acquired viral video status. It has a wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entammede_Jimikki_Kammal.

Here's what seems to be the official video published on youtube on 17th August 2017 which now has over 53 million (yes, 53 million) views: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXiaIH49oAU, 3 min. 14 secs.

The words of the song are kind of freaky. Perhaps that's part of the appeal of the song to its audience. Here's a link having the English translation of the song's lines: https://jimikamal.blogspot.com/2017/09/jimikki-kammal-song-english-translation.html. The initial lines are:

My mother’s Jimikki Kammal(a type of earring)
Was stolen by my father
My father’s Brandy bottle
Was emptied [Ravi: drunk and emptied] by my mother

The dance in the song was repeated by other people and shared on social media. This particular version by female teachers and students of a college, Indian School of Commerce, in Kerala acquired viral status and was picked up by News Corp (mega media company owned by Murdoch family) for streaming the video globally (as per the song's wiki page). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzYPTKohiRA, 3 min 14 secs. It was published on 31st Aug. 2017 and now has over 21 million views! One of the lead dancers in this video, a teacher of Accountancy, seems to have got film role offers!

The original movie which is being promoted by the song, seems to be a Mohanlal starrer. Mohanlal is a Malayalam movie mega star, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohanlal. So the movie team seems to have created another version of the song with Mohanlal also doing a bit of dancing in it! It also has a nice take of the dancers in the original song acting as if they did not get much credit for the song but others who re-did the song (including the Accountancy teacher lady who got the film offers) were reaping the benefits! Eventually they get into the dance. Mohanlal makes a surprise entry and joins in too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIC0ihKRzl8, 3 min. 5 secs, published on 24th Sept. 2017 and has over 10 million views now.

Here's a Mumbai take: MUMBAI DANCING ON JIMMIKI KAMMAL, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3M607BoUbM, 2 min. 41 secs.

What I have been very surprised by is how it has been taken up by people in other countries! Here are some foreign takes of the dance with the Malayalam song being played in the background.

* JIMIKKI KAMMAL by South African school students 🇿🇦, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWhBM9TDtsw, 3 min 29 secs, published on 18th Oct. 2017.

* And here's Jackie Chan: Jimikki kammal - Jackie chan version [HD], https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qh_fNcwyHE, 3 min. 23 secs, published 14th Sep. 2017, has over 1.2 million views.

* Here's a nice one by a few Mallus (Malayalis i.e. Malayalam speaking people of Kerala/Kerala origin) in North Carolina, USA: Jimikki Kammal - North Carolina version, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lkg5xYt5iC0, 3 min. 20 secs.

* This one's from Estonia: Flash Mob - Estonia | Jimikki Kammal | Velipadinte Pusthakam, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5bflX8Q-Yo, 3 min. 26 secs.

* An Arab sings in Malayalam: Jimikki Kammal Arabic Version - Waji Lebanon, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn6mLqUXD1U, 1 min. 21 secs

* Jimikki kammal Russian version Tribute to Mohanlal, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxISH1WsjSo, 1 min. 16 secs.

* Doctors, Staff and Management (seem to be mostly Indian origin/Indians) of a medical polyclinic: JIMIKKI KAMMAL - by TEAM RPC (RASHIDIYAH POLYCLINIC), DUBAI, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUMI222H4g, 3 min. 20 secs.

* A young group of British (pop song type) dancers adapt the dance and gain a lot of applause [the video of the dance is somewhat fuzzy]: Britan's Got Talent show - Kerala film Indian song Jimmiki Kammal playing with dance, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHXdM8vcKMQ, 2 min. 40 secs

* Some Polish guys and gals: Jimikki Kammal - Dance Perfomance in POLAND Onam Celebration Video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qf12pJ-dC8, 2 min. 50 secs.

* A Malaysian (of Chinese origin) guy does it: Jimikki Kammal Dance by #Chinepaiyen (Malaysian Chinese Boy), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kkd_Ssj9YYQ, 4 min 26 secs.

* This seems to be Japanese girls doing their version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xclkLUtpvU8, 3 min. 29 secs.
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Ravi: What an awesome demonstration this is of the power of catchy song-and-dance videos shared freely on social media to attract attention and interest from various parts of the country and the world!

Here is an ISKCON flash mob song-and-dance video done in Bangalore/Bengaluru: First Ever Hare Krishna Kirtan Flash Mob, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUkqhISoyUw, 6 min. 27 secs, published on 8th Sep. 2015, nearly 700 thousand views.

Here is another ISKCON flash mob video: Krishna Keshava | Flash Mob by ISKCON Bangalore, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uRLO_a9fRA, 5 min. 57 secs, published 6th Sep. 2015, around 77 thousand views.

I think the ISKCON flash mob song-and-dance videos would be very attractive to the youth. What a way to spread their message among the youth! Congratulations to ISKCON and their flash mob team!

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