Most of rapper Badshah’s music plays during the world’s night shift. Between 11 pm and 1 am, on Fridays and Saturdays, in clubs and house parties, his lyrics fuel the bodies of millennials, making them groove, jump and forget everything except for the here and now. Since 2014, when Yo Yo Honey Singh exited stage left, Badshah, the understudy, has been the star.

His biggest circle of fans includes everyone who’s heard his songs in Hindi films, such as ‘Saturday Saturday’ from Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (2014), ‘Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai’ from Khoobsurat (2014) and ‘Chull’ from Kapoor & Sons (2016). The second biggest circle has also heard his independent releases, such as ‘DJ Waley Babu’. Finally, the third biggest circle is made up those who’ve followed his Punjabi work (‘Proper Patola’, ‘Wakhra Swag’), featuring singers such as Diljit Dosanjh, Gippy Grewal and others. Even this smallest of circles includes millions of people  he has more than 7 lakh followers on Instagram and nearly 2 lakh followers on Twitter. His Facebook page has been liked by 4.7 million people. Most of his videos have crossed 10 million views on YouTube. He’s the only rapper who endorses brands (Tuborg, Hitachi and Yamaha).

He’s the only non-actor in Dream Team, a concert tour featuring Katrina Kaif, Alia Bhatt and others. These days, Badshah sells out concert venues, fills nightclubs and gets every party going. It’s ironic, then, that he hates partying.