Raftaar

Raftaar (born Dilin Nair on November 16, 1988) is an Indian rapper, lyricist, music producer, composer, dancer, actor, and TV personality associated with Hindi, Punjabi, and Haryanvi music. His full name is Kalathil Kuzhiyil Devadasan Dilin Nair, and he was born in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Kerala, to a Malayali family.

Raftaar began his rap career in 2008, collaborating with Lil Golu and Young Amli (now known as Ikka) to record and upload songs on social sites.

He eventually joined Yo Yo Honey Singh's band Mafia Mundeer as part of the group. After splitting from Mafia Mundeer, he formed "The Titans" with Badshah and Sachit Takkar (Sachh). Ankit Khanna supported him and introduced him to the Punjabi music band RDB, which signed him to their label Three Records. Following a split between RDB members, Raftaar joined Manjeet Ral (now known as Manj Musik).

In 2013, Raftaar released his debut mixtape "WTF Mixtape Vol 1," which had four officially released tracks. The same year, he released "Swag Mera Desi," an MTV Spoken word project produced by Manj Musik, which became a major hit and gave him national recognition.

Fans viewed the song as a diss track targeted at Yo Yo Honey Singh, leading to a public feud between the two musicians. "Swag Mera Desi" won "Best Urban Song of the Year" at the Brit Asia TV Music Awards in 2014, and Raftaar also won the Best Urban Single award for the song with Manj Musik at the Brit Asia TV Music Awards.

Raftaar started his solo career after signing with Zee Music Company in 2016. Three years after his breakthrough, he made his Bollywood debut as a playback singer, duetting with Vishal Dadlani on the title track "One" from the film of the same name. His second full-length release, "Zero to Infinity," followed in 2018, showcasing his strengths as a performer, songwriter, and producer. He released "Mr. Nair" in 2020 and several EPs during the early 2020s.

In 2019, Raftaar began judging reality shows including MTV Hustle, Dance India Dance, and Roadies. He started working as a TV host in 2019, appearing on shows like MTV Hustle and Dance India Dance. He is also known as a TV personality and was featured on India's Got Talent.

Raftaar was married to Manraj Jawanda on January 31, 2025.