Before we get into the interview, just know one thing about UK Haryanvi. This man has sold his own cassettes door to door. On a bicycle. Going from shop to shop, requesting owners to keep his album — and sometimes leaving empty-handed because they did not even pay him.
His first payment for a recorded song was ₹500. Maybe ₹300. He is not even sure anymore. Today his songs cross 60 million views. That gap — between the bicycle and the millions — is the real story.
The Beginning — A Village, A Voice, and Raginis
UK Haryanvi’s real name is Yusuf Khan. He is fromJondhan Kalan village, Israna, Panipat. And when you ask him about his roots, he does not hesitate for even a second.
“Gaon bahut support karta hai mera. Aaj tak koi shikayat nahi. Ek aadmi na nahi keh sakta ki is chhore mein yahan kami hai.”
He would sit and listen to raginis of Lakhmi Chand ji and Satya Kutrawala ji. His nana — Chandralal Bedi from UP — was a performer too. So in some ways, the voice was always there. It just needed time.
By class five or six, he was performing at school Bal Sabhas. Then inter-school competitions. Then state level. After class 10, he made a call that nobody around him fully understood — he dropped out.
“Padhai bilkul nikal gayi thi dimaag se. Mann tha ki stages pe jaana hai. Bas.” No backup plan. Only Just music.
2005 — The First Stage. 2007 — The First Studio.
It was Pawan Gil ji who first brought him into the industry. And it was at Satish Sekhri ji’s Kokila Studio in Rohtak where he recorded his first proper songs in 2007 — an album called Dupatta.
The first time he stood in front of a mic in a recording cabin, he froze. “Pawan Gil ji bole — kinne pakad liya? In gaana to aata nahi. He was reprimanded. Pushed. Coached. And slowly — he found his voice.
₹35,000 Gone. ₹500 Earned.
Here is something most people do not know about UK Haryanvi’s first album. He paid for it himself. And his first payment for a recorded song?
“₹500 mile the. Pata nahi ₹300 ya ₹500 — aisa hi kuch.” After that came ₹2,000. Then ₹5,000. Slowly the numbers moved. But before any of that — there was the bicycle.
“Humne toh apni cassette bhi khud ja ke bech di hai dukaan pe. Cycle pe jaake. Request karke aaya karte — bhai sahab dekh lena”
Read that again. A man going shop to shop on a bicycle, requesting people to keep his music, and sometimes coming back with the cassettes unsold. That is where UK Haryanvi started.
The Name — One Phone Call Changed Everything
For years he was just Yusuf Khan. Struggling. Managing other people’s shows, handling equipment, doing whatever the industry needed. Then one day, sitting in Gurugram after a show, KD Bhai called him UK Haryanvi. No big moment. No planning. Just a name said with confidence.
“Jab se yeh naam liya hai — Bahut kuch achha hua hai zindagi mein.“
Sapna Choudhary’s Debut — Was In His Album
Not many people know this. One of UK Haryanvi’s early albums contained a song called tarikh bata de fauji ho. That was the song where Sapna Choudhary made her debut in the Haryanvi music industry.
Read More:- This Haryanvi Song Shows the Real Side of the Industry
Zindagi hai jhand — The Song That Hit Everyone
If you ask people which UK Haryanvi song they know best — most will say zindagi hai jhand. And the reason is simple. It was real. No age group. No target audience. Just a song that landed everywhere.
Daaru — Shot in 4 Hours. In the Dark.
His collaboration with Masoom Sharma, Raj Mawar and Narendra Bhagana — the song Daaru — was shot in Mohali. The entire shoot took four hours. But it almost did not happen.
“6 baje ka call time tha. Shoot shuru hua 11 baje. Phir din nikalne ka khatra ho gaya — raat wala gaana tha. Director Amit Chaudhary bhai ne kisi bhi tarah shoot karwa diya.”
Four hours. In the dark. Before sunrise ruined the shot.
And Masoom Sharma on set?
“Bachha type aadmi hai woh. Cute si, pyaari si harkaten karta hai. Koi star wali feeling nahi — bilkul waise hi baithta hai jaise yaar dost baith ke baat karte hain.”
The Label That Finally Got Him
For years, UK Haryanvi says he was just focused on selling songs. Getting things out. Moving to the next project. Nobody really asked him what kind of artist he wanted to be.
That changed with Sarvang Music. “Pehla aisa insaan mila industry mein jiska vision alag hai. Unka maanna hai — jo artist jis level ka hai, use wahi kaam karwao. UK Haryanvi sufi gaayega. Romantic gaayega. Sad song gaayega. Folk gaayega. Western nahi, rap nahi.”
His recent release Aankh came from this chapter. And more is coming — written by Narendra Bhagana and Bintu Pabra. Songs he says will feel different from anything he has done before.
What He Said Before Leaving
At the end, UK Haryanvi had a few things to say. To the audience — Achha sunne mein focus rakhen. Kalakar ko support karen. Achhi cheezein aa rahi hain.”
To the industry — “Meri taraf se kabhi kisi ko takleef hui ho — main dil se maafi maangta hoon.”
And to himself — the most honest part of all. “Bahut galtiyan ki hain. Ladaai bahut ki hai. Lekin un cheezon se seekha — apne aap ko sudhar lo. Baaki sab saaf nazar aayega.”
One Last Thing
Before the podcast ended, he sang a few lines. A song written by his guru Prakash Malik ji — about farmers, rain, dry fields. Inspired by the spirit of Lagaan, but in pure Haryanvi.
He wants to record it properly. He wants to know if people are ready for it. If you are — tell him in the comments.
