'Hanuman Chalisa' becomes first Indian YouTube video to cross 3 billion views: T-Series

The "Hanuman Chalisa" on T-Series was sing by Hariharan and features Gulshan Kumar. (Image credit: Screengrab from YouTube video by T-Series)

A rendition of “Hanuman Chalisa” featuring Gulshan Kumar and sung by Hariharan has become the first Indian video on YouTube to cross three billion views, music label T-Series said.

The 9:41-minute video of “Hanuman Chalisa” is the most popular version of the Hindu devotional hymn by Tulsidas, dedicated to Lord Hanuman, and its music is familiar to devotees around the world.

The video has over 12 million “likes” since it was uploaded on YouTube in May 2011.

The YouTube channel of T-Series is the most followed, and is ahead of PewDiePie and Mr Beast, according to Statista, Germany-based consumer data and market insights Company. T-Series has over 238 million subscribers.

T-Series uploads key music genres including Bollywood music, pop, devotional and classics on its 29 channels catering to different Indian languages such as Hindi, Punjabi, Bhojpuri, Telugu, Tamil, Haryanvi, Kannada, Marathi and Gujarati.

Gulshan Kumar, the founder of the T-series, was shot dead on August 12, 1997 in Mumbai. Three assailants had pumped in 16 bullets, killing him on the spot.