# Aashiqui (आशिकी) (soundtrack)
**Aashiqui (आशिकी)** is the soundtrack album of the 1990 Hindi film *Aashiqui*, directed by [Mahesh Bhatt](https://www.edgepedia.org/mahesh-bhatt) and starring [Rahul Roy](https://www.edgepedia.org/rahul-roy) and [Anu Aggarwal](https://www.edgepedia.org/anu-aggarwal). Composed by the duo Nadeem-Shravan and written mainly by lyricist Sameer Anjaan, the album became a defining hit of early-1990s Hindi film music and is reported to be the largest-selling film album in Bollywood history.[1](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/exclusive-my-conscience-said-i-shouldnt-do-aashqui-2-reveals-sameer-anjaan/) • [2](https://www.outlookindia.com/amp/story/art-entertainment/entertainment-news-aashiqui-will-always-keep-shravan-nazar-ke-saamne-jigar-ke-paas-of-bollywood-lovers-news-381010)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | January 1, 1990; 10 songs, 54 minutes; label T-Series (℗ 1990 Super Cassettes Industries Private Limited)[3](https://music.apple.com/us/album/aashiqui-original-motion-picture-soundtrack/1191639294) |
| Composers | Nadeem-Shravan[1](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/exclusive-my-conscience-said-i-shouldnt-do-aashqui-2-reveals-sameer-anjaan/) |
| Lyricist | Sameer Anjaan wrote almost all of the songs[4](https://www.rediff.com/movies/special/shravan-never-compromised-on-melody/20210423.htm) |
| Lead singers | Most songs were sung by Kumar Sanu and Anuradha Paudwal[5](https://splainer.in/sections/2026/Rang-Rang-Rangeela-Re/listen) |
| Sales | 20 million units, per one account; over 15 million (1.5 crore) units, per another[5](https://splainer.in/sections/2026/Rang-Rang-Rangeela-Re/listen) • [6](https://www.hindustantimes.com/music/i-m-a-mad-max-i-will-not-get-beaten/story-85buevS5bPLOcBymZGS6pJ_amp.html) |
| Impact | Brought melody back to Hindi film music and ushered in an era of ghazal-type romantic soundtracks[2](https://www.outlookindia.com/amp/story/art-entertainment/entertainment-news-aashiqui-will-always-keep-shravan-nazar-ke-saamne-jigar-ke-paas-of-bollywood-lovers-news-381010) • [7](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/story/19940615-soundtrack-of-1942-a-love-story-marks-the-revival-of-romance-poetry-in-hindi-film-music-809283-1994-06-14) |
| Notable songs | "Nazar Ke Saamne", "Dheere Dheere Se", "Ab Tere Bin Jee Lenge Hum", "Bas Ek Sanam Chahiye"[2](https://www.outlookindia.com/amp/story/art-entertainment/entertainment-news-aashiqui-will-always-keep-shravan-nazar-ke-saamne-jigar-ke-paas-of-bollywood-lovers-news-381010) |
## Origin
The album began outside cinema. Lyricist [Sameer Anjaan](https://www.edgepedia.org/sameer-anjaan) recalled that *Aashiqui* was originally planned by the producer and T-Series owner [Gulshan Kumar](https://www.edgepedia.org/gulshan-kumar) as a non-film album to promote the singer [Anuradha Paudwal](https://www.edgepedia.org/anuradha-paudwal).[4](https://www.rediff.com/movies/special/shravan-never-compromised-on-melody/20210423.htm) The songs then became the soundtrack of a film produced by Kumar and directed by Mahesh Bhatt.[1](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/exclusive-my-conscience-said-i-shouldnt-do-aashqui-2-reveals-sameer-anjaan/) According to Sameer, the first song recorded for the album was "Bas Ek Sanam Chahiye".[8](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/sameer-anjaan-birthday-special-from-aashiqui-kuch-kuch-hota-hai-to-coolie-no-1-lyricist-shares-stories-behind-iconic-songs-7201997/lite/)
The music stayed more ghazal-oriented than the film's story of a nightclub singer and a fashion model might suggest.[9](https://amp.scroll.in/article/810951/None) Songs such as "Nazar Ke Saamne", "Dheere Dheere Se" and "Ab Tere Bin Jee Lenge Hum" became chart-topping hits and helped drive the film to box-office success.[2](https://www.outlookindia.com/amp/story/art-entertainment/entertainment-news-aashiqui-will-always-keep-shravan-nazar-ke-saamne-jigar-ke-paas-of-bollywood-lovers-news-381010)
## Sales and commercial impact
**A cassette phenomenon.** The album is said to have sold the highest number of cassettes for T-Series to date, and Outlook India describes it as the largest-selling film album in the history of Bollywood.[10](https://www.femina.in/media/magazines/2021/may/Filmfare_May_2021.pdf) • [2](https://www.outlookindia.com/amp/story/art-entertainment/entertainment-news-aashiqui-will-always-keep-shravan-nazar-ke-saamne-jigar-ke-paas-of-bollywood-lovers-news-381010) The figures reported differ: the Splainer retrospective puts sales at 20 million units, while the [Hindustan Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/hindustan-times) attributes more than 15 million (1.5 crore) units to the album.[5](https://splainer.in/sections/2026/Rang-Rang-Rangeela-Re/listen) • [6](https://www.hindustantimes.com/music/i-m-a-mad-max-i-will-not-get-beaten/story-85buevS5bPLOcBymZGS6pJ_amp.html)
The success also transformed the careers of its makers. Nadeem-Shravan, who had struggled for a decade, shot to fame with the album and did not look back; their music for *Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin* and *Saajan* the following year cemented their success.[2](https://www.outlookindia.com/amp/story/art-entertainment/entertainment-news-aashiqui-will-always-keep-shravan-nazar-ke-saamne-jigar-ke-paas-of-bollywood-lovers-news-381010) • [5](https://splainer.in/sections/2026/Rang-Rang-Rangeela-Re/listen) Blending catchy Indian tunes with substantial Western pop elements, their approach became a defining feature of much Hindi film music of the 1990s.[11](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/dwindling-legacy/)
## Place in Hindi film music
The late 1980s had already seen big musical hits such as *Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak*, *Maine Pyar Kiya* and *Chandni*, but the overall quality of film music remained erratic.[5](https://splainer.in/sections/2026/Rang-Rang-Rangeela-Re/listen) In 1990 the super-success of Nadeem-Shravan's *Aashiqui* ushered in an era of ghazal-type romantic music that continued through films such as *Saajan*, *Dil*, *Phool aur Kaante* and *Deewana*.[7](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/story/19940615-soundtrack-of-1942-a-love-story-marks-the-revival-of-romance-poetry-in-hindi-film-music-809283-1994-06-14) The media wrote of a "return to melody" in Hindi films.[5](https://splainer.in/sections/2026/Rang-Rang-Rangeela-Re/listen)
Contemporaries and later writers credit the film more to its music than to its cast or plot: the soundtrack overshadowed the film itself, and decades later *Aashiqui* remains synonymous with its music.[12](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/from-aashiqui-to-ae-dil-hai-mushkil-when-bollywood-soundtracks-stole-the-spotlight-from-the-films/amp_articleshow/126562880.cms) The album has been rated the 4th best ever by Planet Bollywood on its "100 Greatest Bollywood Soundtracks" list.[13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX_T1jydbf0)
## Aftermath and legacy
The duo's run was interrupted by events around T-Series. Nadeem Akhtar Saifi was implicated in a court case for the murder of Gulshan Kumar, after which Nadeem composed tunes over the phone or the internet from London while Shravan arranged and recorded them in India.[6](https://www.hindustantimes.com/music/i-m-a-mad-max-i-will-not-get-beaten/story-85buevS5bPLOcBymZGS6pJ_amp.html) • [9](https://amp.scroll.in/article/810951/None) Shravan Rathod died of Covid-19 in Mumbai at 66 on April 22, 2021.[2](https://www.outlookindia.com/amp/story/art-entertainment/entertainment-news-aashiqui-will-always-keep-shravan-nazar-ke-saamne-jigar-ke-paas-of-bollywood-lovers-news-381010)
The franchise returned in 2013 with *Aashiqui 2*, whose reviewers noted the heavy burden the original's name placed on the sequel; *Aashiqui* till date is described as the biggest musical success in India going by cassette sales volume.[14](https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/bollywood/3537423/aashiqui-2-music-review) The original album's standing has persisted: retrospective accounts still call it a classic of the "return to melody" period, and songs like "Nazar Ke Saamne" and "Dheere Dheere Se" remain love anthems of [Hindi cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/hindi-cinema).[5](https://splainer.in/sections/2026/Rang-Rang-Rangeela-Re/listen) • [12](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/from-aashiqui-to-ae-dil-hai-mushkil-when-bollywood-soundtracks-stole-the-spotlight-from-the-films/amp_articleshow/126562880.cms)
## References
1. [EXCLUSIVE: "My conscience said I shouldn't do Aashqui 2," reveals Sameer Anjaan, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/exclusive-my-conscience-said-i-shouldnt-do-aashqui-2-reveals-sameer-anjaan/)
2. ['Aashiqui' Will Always Keep Shravan 'Nazar Ke Saamne, Jigar Ke Paas' Of Bollywood Lovers, Outlook India](https://www.outlookindia.com/amp/story/art-entertainment/entertainment-news-aashiqui-will-always-keep-shravan-nazar-ke-saamne-jigar-ke-paas-of-bollywood-lovers-news-381010)
3. [Aashiqui (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/aashiqui-original-motion-picture-soundtrack/1191639294)
4. ['Shravan never compromised on melody', Rediff.com](https://www.rediff.com/movies/special/shravan-never-compromised-on-melody/20210423.htm)
5. [Splainer: The '90s, Bollywood's 'return to melody'](https://splainer.in/sections/2026/Rang-Rang-Rangeela-Re/listen)
6. [I'm a mad max. I will not get beaten, Hindustan Times](https://www.hindustantimes.com/music/i-m-a-mad-max-i-will-not-get-beaten/story-85buevS5bPLOcBymZGS6pJ_amp.html)
7. [The return of melody, India Today](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/story/19940615-soundtrack-of-1942-a-love-story-marks-the-revival-of-romance-poetry-in-hindi-film-music-809283-1994-06-14)
8. [Of superhits penned during a car ride: Sameer Anjaan reveals stories of his songs, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/sameer-anjaan-birthday-special-from-aashiqui-kuch-kuch-hota-hai-to-coolie-no-1-lyricist-shares-stories-behind-iconic-songs-7201997/lite/)
9. [I am a Nadeem-Shravan fan and I am not ashamed to admit it, Scroll.in](https://amp.scroll.in/article/810951/None)
10. [Filmfare, May 2021 issue (PDF)](https://www.femina.in/media/magazines/2021/may/Filmfare_May_2021.pdf)
11. [Dwindling Legacy, The Indian Express (Pune News)](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/dwindling-legacy/)
12. [From 'Aashiqui' to 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil', when Bollywood soundtracks stole the spotlight from the films, The Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/from-aashiqui-to-ae-dil-hai-mushkil-when-bollywood-soundtracks-stole-the-spotlight-from-the-films/amp_articleshow/126562880.cms)
13. [AASHIQUI 1 & AASHIQUI 2 Full Songs jukebox, T-Series on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX_T1jydbf0)
14. [Aashiqui 2 music review discussion, India Forums](https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/bollywood/3537423/aashiqui-2-music-review)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Soundtrack albums (film, TV, games, and screen media) › Live-action film soundtracks › Indian film soundtracks*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license