“I get bored easily,” says 31-year-old singer-songwriter KING, whose real name is Arpan Singh Chandel. It’s a candid, somewhat catch-all explanation for his fluid discography, which has drifted from rap, soul, R&B to mushy, melodic pop. His last album, Raja Hindustani, released in February, is an unconcealed tribute to Hindi film pop, featuring duet-like collaborations with Kumar Sanu, Shreya Ghoshal, Shaan and others. KING has already contributed tracks to the Hindi films Drishyam 2 and Shehzada, and walked the Cannes red carpet in 2024 as part of a brand delegation.
His next stop—you don’t say—is his acting debut. KING has a substantial, central turn in Lukkhe, a brash new crime drama series streaming on Prime Video from May 8. Set in a sweaty, souped-up Punjab, the series tells a story of friendship, rap, rivalry and drugs. In addition to starring as the character MC Badnaam, KING has written, composed and sung four songs in the soundtrack for Lukkhe.
In an exclusive interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, KING spoke about his love for movies, the superstar he shares his stage name with, and his musical evolution. Excerpts.
You grew up in Delhi in the late 90s. What sort of movies were you into?
As a kid, I would watch almost every Salman Khan film. Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya (1998) remains one of my favourites, and ‘Oh Oh Jaane Jaana’ is probably my all-time favourite song. ‘Deewana Main Chala’ is another incredible song from that film — Himesh Reshammiya created such an amazing album.
Like most '90s kids, I also grew up watching Akshay Kumar, Jackie Chan and Shah Rukh Khan films. Even today, I revisit Govinda movies all the time. I actually call him ‘dupeher ka raaja’ (the king of afternoons), because if you have nothing to do on a random afternoon, you can just put on a Govinda film and time flies. Any film featuring Govinda, Kader Khan and Johnny Lever is automatically entertaining. There’s a certain rewatchability to films like Naseeb and Dulhe Raja that keeps pulling me back. I really admire how Govinda embraced comedy at a time when not many mainstream actors were exploring the genre seriously.
Shah Rukh Khan, your stage namesake, was tremendous in the 90s too.
When you study Shah Rukh Khan's filmography, you realise how versatile he is as an actor. People often reduce him to the 'King of Romance’, but he has constantly experimented with different genres and characters, from Baazigar to sci-fi films. He never allowed himself to be limited by labels, and I think that's what truly makes him a star. A lot of people want to become the next Shah Rukh Khan, but only focus on the romantic-hero image. What's more inspiring is how layered and fearless his filmography really is.
The 1990s were also the start of satellite cable television. How did global pop culture influence you?
Growing up, I watched a lot of Cartoon Network and was heavily influenced by global pop culture. I listened to everyone from Vengaboys, Timbaland and Lil Wayne to Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Shakira, Eminem and Akon. Those artists really shaped global music culture during that time. The West has historically had a strong influence on pop culture, but the internet has completely changed how we experience it. Earlier, countries like India would receive trends much later, but now we engage with global culture almost simultaneously. At the same time, India has also become creatively self-sufficient and no longer depends on Western validation in the same way. Fashion, music and films shape the youth of every generation. Bollywood, too, has played a huge role in Indianising global influences over the years. Eventually, all these boundaries blur, and I think that’s a beautiful thing.
Is Lukkhe a one-off, or do you foresee a regular acting career?
The makers of this show were looking for someone to play a rapper and approached me for the role. Until then, I had no idea about the detailed process actors go through — from auditions to formal training. My own journey in music has been very different. I’m grateful I got this opportunity, though I honestly don’t know whether another acting role will come my way in the future. That's the difference between music and films — music can often be created individually, whereas cinema depends on many moving parts coming together. In music, I have control over how I’m heard, but in films, I can’t fully control how I’ll be perceived on screen. Some people may enjoy my performance, others may feel I could have done better, and that's completely fine.
Rap movies, even softer ones like Hustle & Flow, unfold at the intersection of society and crime. How much truth do you see in this, especially in an Indian context?
There's a reason stories rooted in drama and crime often feature rappers. Hip-hop is deeply connected to reality, and many rappers come from lived experiences of struggle and survival. That rawness naturally translates well into such narratives. What I appreciated about this series was how authentically the character was written. My character, Badnaam, isn't a polished pop artist — he’s someone who is constantly hustling, and his rise comes from a place of rebellion. People connect with rappers in these stories because they come across as real and unapologetically themselves.
You've been criticised for swaying away from rap to more universal genres like pop. Hip-hop fandom in general places a premium on purism.
I've never believed artists should be boxed into one genre. Artists who truly understand art also understand how much courage and work it takes to evolve creatively, so they rarely pull others down for experimenting.
Of course, hip-hop originated in the West, but every artist interprets it through their own lived experiences. My dialect, upbringing and emotional reality are completely different from those of an American artist, so naturally my expression will also be different.
As for my inclination towards melody and pop music, I think Indian music has always been rooted in melody. No matter what genre people listen to daily, when they're emotional, they still return to songs by artists like Kumar Sanu or Arijit Singh. Hip-hop will always be a huge part of who I am, but I also believe artists should have the freedom to evolve and explore different directions.
Artists like Post Malone, who is now exploring country music (!), or Drake, are great examples of people who constantly evolved beyond expectations. Then there's The Weeknd, Chris Brown and several others who kept reinventing themselves musically while still retaining their identity.
If I hadn't experimented, a song like 'Maan Meri Jaan' simply wouldn't exist. Some people may say it isn't hip-hop, but at the end of the day, it connected with audiences emotionally — and that matters. If music makes people happy, that should be enough.
You indicated in a 2024 interview to Rollings Stone India that you are opposed to using slangs in your music. What is this image of a 'saatvik' rapper?
No, I've never said that I would avoid slang or cuss words. Hip-hop, by nature, is raw, emotional and rooted in reality — it cannot be ‘saatvik’. Art shouldn’t come with unnecessary boundaries on expression.
A lot of these debates exist more in public conversations than in real life. People ultimately consume whatever resonates with them privately. If a song or story demands a certain kind of language or energy, you can’t artificially remove it just to appear politically correct. I think people should simply be more honest before judging others.