Once a Delhiite, always a Delhiite — this stands true for rapper-singer Raftaar. And the city loves the musician back.“Outside my house in Delhi, you will find at least 10 guys waiting to catch a glimpse of me,” he says. The fan love doesn’t stop there, as some get their hair coloured like him, and others tattoo his name. “They wait to touch my feet. It’s a very weird feeling for me to digest all that’s happening,” he says, adding, “I guess it’s just the brotherly love that I’m getting from guys. And I don’t know what it is with the girls (laughs). When I say tera bhai kisse kam hai tere bhai mein bhi dum hai (lyrics of his song Swag Mera Desi),those who connect the most to the lyrics are the Delhi people, because that’s where I’m from and that’s where the lingo belongs to,” he says.
There’s a clear difference in the way Mumbai treats him, and the way the Capital does. “Delhi gives you a lot of love. Bombay people don’t care much because it’s usual for them to see a TV serial guy or a movie actor. But in Delhi, people love artists. They love any musician, any actor; anybody from the art field who visits from the entertainment industry, gets an amazing response in Delhi,” says Raftaar.
His success from a Delhi boy to a rapper sensation in Bollywood has been a subject of much admiration among his fans. “I came from Rohini, I used to stay in Munirka. My movement has been from North Delhi to South Delhi and that means from zero to infinity - like the name of my album. Guys connect with me because they think he’s made it so maybe we’ll make it someday as well.”
Like a true Delhi-walah he loves food. “I’m a big foodie. We travel to Chandni Chowk, Nizamuddin and even Lajpat Nagar ke flyover ke neeche Saleem ke pas bhi jate the khaane. You ask me a joint for good food and I’ll tell you where to go in Delhi. But now I have to control a bit. But one-and a-half-years ago, I never thought about my weight or anything. I used to eat anything and everything. Now because the phase is that you have to be fit, isme thoda avoid karna padta hai bahar ka but normally whenever we get the chance. Ab bahut mushkil hai. Pehle to jab bhook lagti thi kabhi Pandara Road pahunch jaate they ya Lajpat Nagar ke paranthe kha lete they raat ko. Ab to thoda rokna hi padta hai. Times have changed, God has been great and it’s not easy to go to public places,” says Raftaar.
{{/usCountry}}Like a true Delhi-walah he loves food. “I’m a big foodie. We travel to Chandni Chowk, Nizamuddin and even Lajpat Nagar ke flyover ke neeche Saleem ke pas bhi jate the khaane. You ask me a joint for good food and I’ll tell you where to go in Delhi. But now I have to control a bit. But one-and a-half-years ago, I never thought about my weight or anything. I used to eat anything and everything. Now because the phase is that you have to be fit, isme thoda avoid karna padta hai bahar ka but normally whenever we get the chance. Ab bahut mushkil hai. Pehle to jab bhook lagti thi kabhi Pandara Road pahunch jaate they ya Lajpat Nagar ke paranthe kha lete they raat ko. Ab to thoda rokna hi padta hai. Times have changed, God has been great and it’s not easy to go to public places,” says Raftaar.
{{/usCountry}}Reality check happens at home. “Mom makes South Indian food for me almost always, because I get it rarely,as I travel a lot for work. Bachchpan mein vo roz khata tha but now whenever I’m back in Delhi, one day is always a dosa session.”
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