Yung DSA is a rapper from Yerwada in Pune whose real name is Harsh Vijay Machare. His 2024 song Yeda Yung, released on Divine’s Gully Gang Records label, made his name in Indian hip-hop, and in September 2026 he entered Salman Khan’s Bigg Boss 20, where he became the season’s first captain.
Inside the house he has been praised by both hosts and reprimanded by both. Outside it, viewers have argued over whether the way he talks on the show is his own or borrowed from former winner MC Stan.
- Real name: Harsh Vijay Machare
- Stage name: Yung DSA
- From: Yerwada, Pune, Maharashtra
- Birth date: 20 December 2004 per Famous Birthdays, not confirmed by him in the coverage cited here
- Known for: Yeda Yung (2024), released by Gully Gang Records
- Bigg Boss 20: entered at the 6 September 2026 premiere; first captain of the season
Harsh Vijay Machare, from Yerwada
The Times of India identified him in October 2026 as Harsh Vijay Machare from Yerwada, Pune. It reported that his interest in rap began when he was around 12, and that he worked at a BPO before music paid enough to live on. Reports about his background say the job helped support his family.
His age has not been confirmed by him in the interviews and reports cited here. Famous Birthdays, a celebrity database, lists 20 December 2004, which would make him 21 in October 2026; the age calculator works from that date. Salman Khan called him the youngest member of the Bigg Boss 20 house, which fits that listing.
He has described his childhood on the show in his own words. In an episode reported on 23 October, he told Aasif Khan that people who came to collect his father’s debt would abuse his mother. “My parents have been through very difficult times, brother,” he said, in the Times of India’s translation, and recalled that at meals the family could barely swallow a bite.
Salman Khan picked up the same theme a few days earlier. After a fight in the house, he said Yung had seen hard situations from a young age and could have been drawn into drugs, violence or a gang. Instead, Salman said, “he chose the right path for himself.”
Yeda Yung and the songs since
Yeda Yung came out in September 2024 through Gully Gang Records, the label founded by rapper Divine. The Times of India listed him as artist, vocalist, lyricist and composer on the track, with production by YD Year Down.
The song changed his working life. Citing his interview with Rolling Stone India, the Times of India reported that its success let him leave the BPO job and work on music full time.
His sound mixes Marathi folk elements, street slang from his neighborhood and trap beats, sometimes with traditional instruments such as the sitar, Filmibeat wrote on the day of the premiere. Since Yeda Yung he has released Maaf Kar, Chala Kalti, Rade Rapate and the bilingual Fachadi. Filmibeat put his Instagram following, under @yung_dsa, at more than 98,000 at that point.
New music has been hinted at but not named. On 25 October the Times of India reported that his team had posted a behind-the-scenes video in which he teases a surprise for fans, with the details kept under wraps.
The MC Stan comparison
The accent he uses in the house became its own debate within three weeks. The Times of India reported on 23 September that viewers had dug up older clips in which he speaks Hindi and English without the slang heard on the show. Some called it a copy of MC Stan, a former Bigg Boss winner. Others said nobody could hold a borrowed accent that long without slipping.
Reddit split along the same line. A post on r/poprant put the critics’ case in one sentence:
“Yung DSA clearly knows how to speak normally, so many people guessed it right, he’s just following MC Stan’s style.”
– r/poprant, September 2026 (12 upvotes)
A post on r/biggboss with 20 upvotes argued the opposite, that an interview voice and an everyday voice are rarely the same:
“People speak formally in interviews and podcasts.. they have a different tone and accent in a formal interview that they don’t use in their everyday conversations.”
– r/biggboss, September 2026 (20 upvotes)
Neither side has settled it. The Times of India noted that he had already addressed the comparison inside the house, without quoting his answer.
Yung DSA on Bigg Boss 20
Yung entered at the 6 September premiere and talked about his Pune roots and being mocked, which he said he answered through music. He then won the first captaincy task of the season, beating Aasif Khan and Kushal Tanwar, known as Gullu, the Times of India reported.
His early weeks ran through one group: ScoutOP, Love Gill, Aamrapali Dubey and Aasif. In late September a remark he made to Love about dancing with Gullu upset her. He said the slang was common where he grew up, and that what worried him was the audience at home. “I only care about what my mother thinks about me out there,” he said, adding that his girlfriend and her parents were also watching. He did not name her.
October brought rebukes. Salman Khan said there seemed to be “a bullying gang in the house” after Scout and Yung went after Qazi Touqeer, who had dengue, and both later apologized, Deccan Chronicle reported. On 13 October the Times of India reported a rift with Scout, who said he would stop chasing Yung for attention.
The same month also brought praise. When Gullu and Nakul Dhull came to blows, Yung argued against the violence, and Salman called his point the most logical of the week. Nakul was later evicted over that fight.
Rohit Shetty, who hosted the Weekend Ka Vaar of 24 and 25 October, gave him both. He told Yung that he never talks behind anybody’s back and should “get out of this group and play solo,” the Times of India reported. India Today reported that the same weekend Shetty also labeled Scout and Yung a “bully gang” and compared their posturing to that of “three tenth-graders.”
The month ended with a fight of his own. During a captaincy task on 28 October, Gullu mocked Yung’s hair and threatened him, and the two shoved each other, Pinkvilla reported. Yung shot back that he could hire someone like Gullu on a salary.
His mother watched the episode and messaged his manager, Pranay, the Times of India reported on 30 October. “Did he get hurt? Ask the team,” she wrote in Marathi, and asked for action to be taken. Pranay told her that Yung was unhurt and that he would raise it with the team the next morning.
Yung DSA: quick answers
What is Yung DSA’s real name?
Yung DSA’s real name is Harsh Vijay Machare. He is from Yerwada in Pune, Maharashtra, and raps under the name Yung DSA.
Who is Yeda Yung?
Yeda Yung is not a separate person. It is Yung DSA’s breakout song, released in September 2024 by Gully Gang Records, and its success let him quit his BPO job for music.
What is the new song by Yung DSA?
No new song had been named by late October 2026. His team posted a behind-the-scenes video that hints at a surprise for fans, the Times of India reported on 25 October. Songs he has released since Yeda Yung include Fachadi, Rade Rapate and Chala Kalti.
