Raftaar is an Indian rapper, singer, lyricist, and dancer who predominately makes Hindi and Punjabi music.
Wiki/Biography
Raftaar was born Dilin Nair on Wednesday, 16 November 1988 (age 34 years; as of 2022) in Trivandrum, Kerala. His zodiac sign is Scorpio. He did his schooling at six different schools because he was bullied by kids in school. He attended Mount Abu Public School, New Delhi, Sachdeva Public School, Rohini, and Shiva Shiksha Sadan, Sonipat. When he was a kid, he was interested in dancing and after completing his studies, he started taking classes at a dance institute in Delhi that used to charge Rs 150 per kid. He pursued a bachelor’s degree in computer application at Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, New Delhi. He learned Hindi, Punjabi and Haryanvi languages while staying in hostels and could only perform in clubs and college fests.
Raftaar when he was a youngster
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 7″
Weight (approx.): 70 kg
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Body Measurements (approx.): Chest 40′ Waist 30′ Biceps 14′
Family
Parents & Siblings
Raftaar’s father’s name is K.K Devdasan, who worked at Indian railways. His mother’s name is Lalitha Nair, who worked as a typist.
Wife
Raftaar got married to Komal Vohra on 1 December 2016. His wife is an interior designer and the sister of Indian television actors Karan Vohra and Kunal Vohra.
Raftaar’s wedding image
They filed for divorce in June 2022, but the procedure was stopped due to the Covid pandemic.
Career
Early Career
In 2008, he started his career by recording songs with Lil Golu and Young Amli (now known as Ikka) and uploaded those videos on social media. He joined the Mafia Mundeer group and started working with Honey Singh after which he gained some popularity. In 2012, due to some differences, the group split up and Raftaar got entry into the Punjabi industry after being managed by music manager Ankit Khanna. He joined the Punjabi music band RDB. Later, he joined the label, Three Records. The RDB group also split and later, he joined Manjeet Ral (now known as Manj Musik).
Singles
Raftaar sang his first solo song Bottle in 2012 for the album Born Star by Deep Money.
Poster of the song ‘Bottle’ (2012) from the album Born Star
In 2013, he released the song “Swag Mera Desi” after which he came to recognition. The song also led to some problems between Raftaar and Honey Singh because the line in the song ‘Ab yeh karke dikhao’ came out to be a diss to Honey Singh.
Poster of the song ‘Swag Mera Desi’
He recorded song singles You Don’t Know Me (2013), All Black (2015), Do Hazaar Solo (2016), Click Pow Get Down (2020), and RATATA (2022).
Poster of the song ‘All Black’
Album
In 2018, he released his first album ‘Zero to Infinity’ which included popular songs like Baby Marvake Maanegi, Saare Karo Dab, Gall Goriye, Lonely, and Woh Chori.
Poster of album ‘ Zero to Infinity’
In 2020, he released another album ‘Mr. Nair’ in which he sang songs including Main Wahi Hoon, Drama, Bottal Wargi, Naachne Ka Shaunq and Superman.
Poster of the song ‘Main Wahi Hoon’
Film music
In 2013, he started singing songs for films. He made his debut with the song Tamanchey Pe Disco for the film ‘Bullet Raja.’
A still from the song ‘Tamanchey Pe Disco’
Some of the film music written by him are Whistle Baja for the film Heropanti (2014), A Flying Jatt Title Track for the film A Flying Jatt (2016), Teen Kabootar for the film Lucknow Central (2017), Thalaiva In Charge for the film Darbar (2020), and Janhit Mein Jaari Title Track for the film Janhit Mein Jaari (2022).
Poster of the song ‘Whistle Baja’
Television
In 2011, he participated in Dance India Dance, with a colleague from the institute and named the duo “Max and Manik”. He stood eighth in the competition.
Raftaar with his partner in the show ‘Dance India Dance’
Raftaar appeared on television in 2015 in the show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 8 on Colors as a contestant.
Raftaar on the show ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 8’
He appeared as a gang leader for the show Roadies Xtreme (2018), Roadies: Real Heroes (2019), and Roadies: Revolution (2020).
Raftaar on the show ‘Roadies Xtreme’
He appeared as a judge on the shows Dance India Dance Battle Of The Champions (2019) and MTV Hustle (2020).
Raftaar as a judge on the show ‘Dance India Dance Battle Of The Champions’
Controversies
Raftaar in controversy with Honey Singh
In 2014, Raftaar attracted controversy when singer Honey Singh did not give him credit for writing and composing three tracks, Fugly, Banjarey and Dhup Chik. In an interview, Honey Singh said that he had the rights to the songs Fugly and Banjarey. Raftaar disagreed with his statement and said,
Yo Yo and I wrote and composed these two songs. I have no idea why I am not being credited for the other one.”
Raftaar’s stand against CAA
In 2019, Raftaar spoke against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens in one of his concerts. In the concert, while abusing, he said that no one will leave the country. Later, tweeted his apology for abusing on Twitter and said,
Before everyone starts jumping in and fighting on who agrees or disagrees with me. I want to apologise for abusing on stage. That is something I shouldnt have done. Gaali dena aur ladki ki izzat karne me farq hai. Galat tab bhi hai. Uske liye maafi.”
The similarity between Raftaar’s and BTS’s video
In 2022, Raftaar released the video of the song Mantoiyat after which the BTS fans accused him of copying the music video of Kim Namjoon aka RM’s Do You. In a tweet, Raftaar talked about this and said,
I can totally understand why BTS fans are upset and you have all the right to be. In our industry we are hired to do our part of the job. I personally acknowledge the resemblance of the video. I really feel bad for it but please dont target my music or the message it holds.”
Awards
- 2014: Best Urban Song at the Britasia Music Awards for the song “Swag Mera Desi”
Raftaar wins ‘Best Urban Song at the Britasia Music Awards’
- 2016: Best Music Director and Best Club Song Of The Year at PTC Punjabi Music Awards
Raftaar posing with Best Music Director and Best Club Song Of The Year at PTC Punjabi Music Awards
- 2018: Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Award
Raftaar receiving Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Award
Car Collection
- Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Raftaar posing on his Mercedes-Benz S-Class
- Lamborghini
Raftaar posing on his Lamborghini
Tattoos
- On his both shoulders
Raftaar’s tattoo on his shoulders
- Mic inked on his chest
Raftaar’s tattoo on his chest
- The word ‘Loyalty’ inked on his wrist
Raftaar’s tattoo on his wrist
- On his left hand
Raftaar’s tattoo on his hand
- A ring inked on his ring finger
Raftaar’s tattoo on his finger
Favourites
- Food: Saag with Makki ki Roti
- Musician(s): Eminem, Linkin Park
Facts/Trivia
- His hobbies include travelling and gyming.
- He changed his name from Dilin to Raftaar because he had a Malayali name, but he used to record his songs in Punjabi and Haryanvi. In an interview, he talked about how his fans got to know his real name and said,
After Malaika Arora Khan revealed that I am a Malayali on India’s Got Talent, my Facebook and Twitter pages were filled with queries. In fact, some even thought I have signed on some Malayalam movie and was promoting it.”
- In 2016, he started working with Zee Music Company.
- In 2017, Raftaar worked in the Bengali music industry. He sang the title track for the Bengali film ‘One’ along with singer Vishal Dadlani. He produced and rapped for the song ‘Dekho Dekho Chaamp‘ for the Bengali film Chaamp.
Poster of the title track for the Bengali film ‘One’
- In 2018, he participated in the second edition of Breezer Vivid Shuffle with Varun Dhawan.
Raftaar with Varun Dhawan on Breezer Vivid Shuffle
- He recorded two EPs BAR’ISH EP in 2020 and HARD DRIVE Vol. 1 in 2022.
- He started the Desi Hip Hop label named Kalamkaar.
- He is often spotted enjoying alcohol on various occasions.
Raftaar holding a glass of beer