Raftaar facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Raftaar
Raftaar on the sets of Dance India Dance in 2019
Born	Kalathil Kuzhiyil Devadasan Dilin Nair (1988-11-16) 16 November 1988 (age 36) Trivandrum, Kerala, India
Occupation	Rapper Singer Music Producer Lyricist Music Composer Dancer Actor TV Personality Film Producer
Years active	2008–present
Spouse(s)	Komal Vohra ​ ​ (m. 2016; div. 2022)​
Musical career
Genres	Bollywood Desi hip hop R&B Pop Urban Hip hop
Labels	Sony Music India Kalamkaar Zee Music Company Mass Appeal India
Associated acts	Badshah, KR$NA, Ikka, Manj Musik, Karma, Salim–Sulaiman, Rashmeet Kaur, Yunan, Harjas Harjaayi, Shah Rule, Yo Yo Honey Singh

Dilin Nair (born 16 November 1988), better known by his stage name Raftaar, is an Indian rapper, lyricist, music producer, music composer, dancer, actor and TV personality associated with Hindi, Punjabi and Haryanvi music.

Starting his career as a dancer, Raftaar (then known as Max) participated in a reality TV show Dance India Dance in 2011, in 'DID Double' along with a friend named Manik. He began his career in rap in 2008 with Lil Golu and Ikka, recording songs and uploading them on social sites. He then started working with Yo Yo Honey Singh as a part of the Mafia Mundeer group. Raftaar later split from the group due to credit-related problems. He then formed a group 'The Titans' with Badshah and Sachit Takkar (Sachh). They produced many songs together in the Punjabi Music Industry and Bollywood. He was supported by Ankit Khanna, who introduced him to the Punjabi music band RDB, who then signed him onto their label, Three Records. Soon after the split between the RDB members, Raftaar joined Manjeet Ral (now known as Manj Musik). He started his solo career in 2016 after getting signed to Zee Music Company.

He won the Best Urban Single award for "Swag Mera Desi" with Manj Musik at the Brit Asia TV Music Awards. In 2019, he started judging the reality shows MTV Hustle, Dance India Dance and Roadies, and was also seen as a guest judge on 2 episodes of India's Got Latent.

Early and personal life

Raftaar was born on 16 November 1988 to a Delhi-based Malayali couple in Trivandrum (now Thiruvananthapuram), Kerala. Raftaar married Kamal Vohra, the sister of Indian television actors Karan Vohra and Kunal Vohra, in December 2016. They filed for a divorce in 2020 and have been living separately. The legal proceedings were delayed due to COVID-pandemic and were finalised on 6 October 2022.

Career

Raftaar became known after releasing his song "Swag Mera Desi" in 2013 with Manj Musik. The line "Ab yeh karke dikhao" (transl. Now try to do this) from the song was a diss to Yo Yo Honey Singh. "Ab yeh karke dikhao" had already been used in Yo Yo Honey Singh's song "Party With The Bhoothnath" which led to a dispute between the two rappers in media. "Swag Mera Desi" won Best Urban Song at the Brit Asia TV Music Awards in 2014.

In 2017, Raftaar debuted in the Bengali music industry through the film One which featured singer Vishal Dadlani and Raftaar. He also produced and rapped a song for the Chaamp soundtrack. Raftaar has collaborated with Varun Dhawan for the second edition of Breezer Vivid Shuffle.

Discography

Albums

• Zero To Infinity (2018)
• Mr. Nair (2020)

EPs and Mixtapes

• BAR'ISH EP (2020–21)
• HARD DRIVE Vol.1 (Mixtape) (2022)
• PRAA (EP) (2023)
• HARD DRIVE Vol.2 (Mixtape) (2024)

Singles and collaborations

Film music

Television roles