Signing you in

This time, the controversy revolves around a group of friends dancing on Hanoi’s famous Train Street, a narrow railway track lined with cafés and homes that has become one of Vietnam’s most visited tourist attractions.

The video was posted by Shweta Jain, founder of a Mumbai-based jewellery brand, during her trip to Vietnam with friends. In the clip, the group can be seen dancing to the Bollywood song Chaiyya Chaiyya, famously picturised on a moving train featuring Shah Rukh Khan and Malaika Arora.

“If you’ve visited Vietnam’s Train Street but didn’t do Chaiyya Chhaiyaa, did you really visit Train Street at all?” read the text overlay on the video.

While comments on the original Instagram post were disabled, the video quickly spread across other platforms, where it sparked heated reactions.

An X user who reposted the clip wrote, “Only question: why can’t we just act normal when we’re abroad? Foreign jaate hi sabka dance kyun bahr ane lagta hai? (Why does everyone suddenly feel like dancing the moment they go abroad?) Why do we feel the need to stand out everywhere across the globe? Everyone else is sitting quietly and enjoying the moment, but our people somehow have to pull out a full Chaiyya Chaiyya performance.”

Only question: why can’t we just act normal when we’re abroad? Foreign jaate hi sabka dance kyun bahr ane lagta hai ? Why do we feel the need to stand out everywhere across the globe? Everyone else is sitting quietly and enjoying the moment, but our people somehow have to pull… pic.twitter.com/WO4uwUL2u5

Several users criticised the group’s behaviour. One person commented, “We’re Indians. We have absolutely zero civic sense. No wonder we’re hated and ridiculed by everyone.” Another wrote, “Cause we’ve an inferiority complex & we try to hide it by doing such silly things not realising they make us look stupid.”

A third user added, “This is exactly why Indians get judged abroad… We have so much energy and love for dance, but there’s a time and place… Everyone else sitting quietly and enjoying .. but we turn everywhere into a Bollywood set.”

At the same time, many defended the tourists and questioned the outrage. “Who defines normal? What is your view on Flash Mob Dances by Europeans and Americans?” one user asked.

Another commented, “What’s your problem with people having fun!!?”

The debate comes shortly after another viral video showed Indian travellers performing garba near a VietJet Air aircraft at a Vietnam airport. The clip appeared to capture the group dancing in a circle beside the plane while nearby passengers watched, with reactions online ranging from amusement to criticism.