India’s record-breaking album of all time sold more than 5 crore copies and left the next best more than 4 crore behind. The best-selling album, ‘Aap Ka Surroor’ by Himesh Reshammiya, achieved an unprecedented milestone by selling 5.5 crore copies worldwide surpassing the sales of legendary Indian and global artists.
Transformation in the Music Business
Indian music sales were up in the 1990s, and so were both the film soundtracks and the nascent Indipop. When the number of record labels mushroomed, albums went on to sell more than a million, and once in a while, even touched the previously unthinkable mark of 10 million.
However, this golden era lasted just 15 years before streaming platforms took over, ending physical sales and redefining musical success. Yet, in that brief window, an ‘accidental singer’ set a record that may never be broken—selling 55 million copies of a cult album that has remained India’s best-selling for nearly two decades.
India’s Best-Selling Album
Throughout the 90s, Nadeem-Shravan’s Aashiqui soundtrack and Daler Mehndi’s Bolo Ta Ra Ra. were India’s record-breaking album, selling 15 million (1.5 crores) copies each. They also held the record for the South Asian album sold the most until composer Himesh Reshammiya’s debut album as a singer, Aap Ka Surroor, broke the record. According to Koimoi, the album sold 55 million (5.5 crores) copies worldwide, putting it on the list of the highest-selling albums in the world.
This is an incredible number, for it is 15 million fewer than Thriller, the Michael Jackson album. According to reports, Aap Ka Surroor also broke the sales record of legendary albums such as Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon (45 million), Adele’s 21 (31 million), and The Beatles’ 1 (31 million).
‘Accidental Singer’ Who Outshines Legends
According to Reshammiya, he had no intention of becoming a singer, for he was already an accomplished composer. However, the right song came along and changed everything, catapulting him to stardom. Even at the peak of Indipop in the 90s, no private album surpassed 8 million copies in sales, including Sonu Nigam’s Deewana and Alisha Chinai’s Made in India.
Even international superstars like AR Rahman and Diljit Dosanjh have not achieved an album that has sold more than 10 million. Aap Ka Surroor, for example, already fetched 55 million copies.
Career Graph of Himesh Reshammiya
Himesh Reshammiya started his career as a composer with a single track in the movie Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya (1998) and then he did his first full album in the movie Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge. In 2005, he ventured into playback singing with Aashiq Banaya Aapne, one of the year’s best-selling albums. His fortunes as a singer continued with hit tracks from Aksar, Humko Deewana Kar Gaye, Phir Hera Pheri, and Dil Diya Hai, inspiring him to launch his album.
This resulted in Aap Ka Surroor, which started in January 2006. The album contains 11 new tracks and 7 remixes, with singles like Tera Surroor, Naam Hai Tera, Samjho Na, Tu Yaad Na Aaye, Wada Tainu, and I Love You Sayyoni at the top charts. Himesh composed but also sang each of the new tracks, Sameer wrote them, and Akbar Sami did the remixes.
