Shatrughan Kumar Yadav (खेसारी लाल यादव, born 15 March 1986), known professionally as Khesari Lal Yadav, is an Indian actor, singer, dancer and model who primarily works in Bhojpuri cinema. Also known by the Initialism KLY, Yadav has appeared in more than 70 films, and performed as vocalist in more than 5000 songs. Apart from Bhojpuri, he has also worked in Hindi, Awadhi and Haryanvi languages.
Born in Chhapra, Bihar, Yadav began his singing career in late 2000s and has had a steady acting career since appearing in Saajan Chale Sasural in 2011. He made his Bollywood debut as a singer in 2014 with "AK-47" in the film Koyelaanchal. He won Best Popular Actor at the 2016 Bhojpuri Film Awards,[8] followed by Best Actor (Male) and Best Playback Singer (Male) at the Sabrang Film Awards in 2018 for his appearance in Mehandi Laga Ke Rakhna. In 2019, he won four more awards for his role in the film Sangharsh. In 2019, he participated in the reality show Bigg Boss 13.
In 2020, his third Hindi film song and first Hindi-language single "Ladki Patana," was released by Sony Music India which was followed by "Tere Mere Darmiyaan" in 2021. Soon after, He collaborated with Badshah to recreate the "Pani Pani" song in Bhojpuri language. In 2022, he made his debut as a screenwriter with his film Aashiqui. YouTube featured his two songs on its list of the top Indian songs of 2022.