The makers unveiled new viewership data showing that a 14-year-old devotional video has become the only Indian upload to cross 5 billion views on YouTube. As other top Indian videos remain under the 2-billion mark, Shree Hanuman Chalisa stands alone as the country’s most-watched video ever.
The video for 'Shree Hanuman Chalisa', featuring the late Gulshan Kumar of T-Series, was released on May 10, 2011, and has steadily grown to over 5,006,713,956 views in 14 years. With vocals by Hariharan and composition by Lalit Sen, it is now among YouTube’s most-viewed videos globally.
Bhushan Kumar, Managing Director of T-Series, expressed his gratitude, saying: “Hanuman Chalisa holds a special place in the hearts of millions, including mine. My father, Shri Gulshan Kumar ji, devoted his life to taking spiritual music to every household, and this milestone is a reflection of his vision. Crossing 5 billion views and also being YouTube’s top 10 most viewed videos of all time is not just a digital achievement; it reflects the unwavering devotion people have in this country.”
No Indian release comes close to the numbers achieved by 'Shree Hanuman Chalisa'. The next highest-viewed video is the Punjabi track 'Lehenga' with 1.8 billion views. Haryanvi song '52 Gaj Ka Daman' and Tamil song 'Rowdy Baby' follow with 1.7 billion views each. Other popular Indian videos in the top bracket include 'Zaroori Tha', 'Vaaste', 'Laung Laachi', 'Lut Gaye', 'Dilbar' and 'Bum Bum Bole'.
Globally, the charts are led by videos such as 'Baby Shark Dance' (16.38 billion views), 'Despacito' (8.85 billion), 'Wheels on the Bus' (8.16 billion), 'Bath Song' (7.28 billion) and 'Johny Johny Yes Papa' (7.12 billion), placing 'Shree Hanuman Chalisa' in a rare global league of most-watched videos.
