Most stunt riders know the risk they run, especially when they don’t bother with helmets like Salik Soni*, a biker-influencer from Hyderabad. “You see, I have more than 40,000 followers on Instagram who can’t get enough of the wheelies and stoppies I perform with my Yamaha FZ S. Sometimes they say, ‘Bro, wear a helmet. ’ But I don’t look stylish enough in it,” says the 22-yearold student, who has a history of cases booked against him for violating road safety rules. He’s had his bikes seized for stunt riding on public roads. His car was once towed away for “drifting” in a circular motion. His former girlfriend’s family made her end their relationship, tired of Soni’s dangerous stunts with their daughter as pillion. “But a biker never gives up,” says Soni, who has often sustained serious injuries on his arms, legs and face.
Soni is not the only one addicted to crazy stunts for social media likes. In a 13-second video that went viral in April, a Mumbai man was booked for performing a wheelie with twowomen riding pillion on either side of the bike, waving and smiling in the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) area. Cases were lodged against the rider under sections 279 (rash driving) and 336 (endangering lives) of the IPC and the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and even the two women were booked as abettors. Around a week later, Mumbai police arrested 82 bikers — of which 10 were minors — for racing, illegal betting and stunt riding on the Western Express Highway in the wee hours. The tip-off came after the group posted an invite for a bike race on a social networking site.
Both the big and small screen have a role to play in popularising these death-defying stunts whether it’s Tom Cruise (Mission Impossible), Keanu Reeves (John Wick), the Dhoom gang in Bollywood or reality shows like Roadies and Stunt Mania.
Even though the sport is not legally recognised in India, there are some professional stunt bikers who play by the rules: performing on special tracks, taking permission from owners and cops, and using a paraphernalia of safety gear — from elbow pads and shoulder caps to back protectors and chest guards, apart from the regulation helmet, gloves and boots. But the social media world of stunt biking is the wild wild west.
The rule-breakers, who in Bambaiyya lingo are called ‘chapris’, have no respect for the sport, say the pros. “If you don’t wear helmets, your wheelie videos will get millions of views instantly. And the chapris don’t mind even if that fame is shortlived,” says Sachin Khengle, a pro stunt biker from Mumbai who runs a ‘wheelie school’ to promote motorcycle stunts in safer, controlled environments like off-road tracks, private compounds and cemented patches with barricades.
He knows how to spot the miscreants. “Their videos are often shot on public roads and in front of cheering crowds. They don’t have helmets, jackets or the right shoes. Chapris feature women in their videos and the soundtrack is trending rap songs full of expletives,” says Khengle.
Gurman Singh from West Delhi has gone from being a devil-may-care, reckless biker to helping cops hunt for rival biker gangs and goons, and is well-acquainted the underbelly of stunt-biking. He has appeared in over 20 music videos performing memorable stunts on his Royal Enfield Bullet for artists like Badshah and Yo Yo Honey Singh. But today the 29-year-old is not interested in stunts. “I’d much ratherbe a lifestyle influencer. It has a wider canvas. Bikes have a niche audience,” says Singh, adding that stunt biking is mushrooming most in Jammu. “There are paid bike crashes executed for views. The chapris ram their own bikes and start a fight on the road. The audience, mostly comprising underage bikers, goes wild watching these videos. Capturing reactions of women getting all scared with the roar of a speeding motorbike is another bestseller,” says Singh, indicating that some motor companies and betting apps allow brand promotions on such videos as they are only concerned with views.
Some confess that they are in it for the bucks. Amit Kumar from Bihar says doing perilous stunts is the only way he can monetise his videos to boost the income he gets from a day job in digital marketing. “It’s not as if there are any designated spaces to practise stunt biking in Patna,” he points out.
Mushtaq Ansari, a road safety advocate in Mumbai who runs the Twitter handle Pothole Warriors, has been calling out rash-driving bikers for the last few months, including the stunt in which two women straddled a motorbike. He says the law is slowly catching up with these road daredevils, at least in Mumbai. “The Mumbai police are keeping a close watch on social media now,” says Ansari. He suggests jail time for bikers and a fine for parents. “Traffic police should conduct refresher courses on road safety rules and norms every six months for errant licence holders,” says Ansari.
*Name changed on request