Assam witnessed unprecedented scenes this morning, as people lined up before movie halls and multiplexes across the state even before the sunrise. Today, Zubeen Garg’s last movie Roi Roi Binale was released, almost six weeks after the mysterious death of Assam’s cultural icon in Singapore. Ahead of the release, the movie had already witnessed record advance bookings.
The film premiered today to unprecedented frenzy, with fans queuing before dawn, braving surprise pre-winter rains, transforming multiplexes into shrines of collective catharsis.
As people of Assam has turned Zubeen Garg’s samadhi into a pilgrimage site with thousands visiting daily, lighting diyas and making offerings, they bid a cinematic farewell to their Zubeen Da, singing his swan song Roi Roi Binale in theatres before the screening of the Assam’s first musical love story in theatres across the state and beyond.
What began as a dream project for the late singer-actor has now etched itself into Assamese cinematic lore, dominating every screen in the region while sidelining all other releases, a testament to Garg’s indelible imprint on the hearts of millions.
Due to tremendous demand for the movie, and also as a mark of respect for Zubeen, all cinema halls in Assam are only screening on movie, Roi Roi Binale. Most multiplexes in Assam have all their screens reserved solely for the movie, running back-to-back from dawn till late night. Not only that, theatres have increased screenings, with the first screening at 6-6.30, and the last show after 10 PM. Most movies are screening the movie 7 times a day, with some theatres running 8 shows today.
On the inaugural day, some theatres screened it much earlier. The inaugural show kicked off at 4:25 a.m. at a Guwahati multiplex, the earliest in Assamese cinema history, followed by shows around 4:30 a.m. in multiple places like North Lakhimpur, Tezpur and Dhemaji. By midnight, over 585 shows are scheduled across 85 screens in Assam alone, with an additional six in the Northeast and 45 more in 46 cities nationwide, including a historic premiere in Gangtok, the first Assamese film screened there.
The advance booking for the movie opened on BookMyShow opened a week ago, and the movie has saw record bookings. Tickets for the first week in cinemas across Assam were sold out in the first two days of the opening. Tickets evaporated as soon as bookings started, and houseful boards came up until November 2 at major venues, a box-office blitzkrieg that shattered records for regional releases.
People who watched the movie on the first day were seen weeping while coming out of the theatres. Videos show moviegoers singing Zubeen Garg’s timeless song ‘Mayabini Ratir Bukut’ in theatres before the beginning of the screening.
In a sweeping gesture of solidarity, the Assamese film industry hit pause, as film makers have announced that no new Assamese movie will be released this year.
The Assamese drama-musical, directed by Garg alongside Rajesh Bhuyan and produced by the icon himself with his wife Garima Saikia Garg, unfolds the poignant tale of a blind artiste navigating love, loss, and unyielding passion for music. Garg, portraying the lead, infuses the role with raw vulnerability, drawing from his own multifaceted career as a playback singer, composer, lyricist, and actor who revolutionized Assamese pop and film soundtracks.
Shot partly in Sri Lanka, the film features co-stars like Rahul Sharma and boasts a soundtrack laced with Garg’s signature soul-stirring melodies, including heartfelt ballads that mirror the protagonist’s inner turmoil. Viewers hailed it as Garg’s most profound acting showcase, a “complete artist’s magnum opus” that transcends the screen to evoke the very tears its title promises.
Garg’s untimely death on September 19, 2025, while swimming off a Singapore island, officially ruled a drowning but shrouded in controversy with an ongoing Assam SIT probe and public demands for clarity, left the project in limbo. Yet, true to his indomitable spirit, the release adhered strictly to the October 31 date he had envisioned.
Garima Garg stepped in as the emotional anchor, overseeing the final shoots and post-production with a team of dedicated collaborators. “Zubeen da fixed this date with his heart; we couldn’t let it slip,” she shared in recent interviews.
The movie was very close to Zubeen Garg’s heart, and he was working on the project for the last three years. In an interview days before his death, he revealed that he had created the outline of the movie 19 years ago. The title of the movie, Roi Roi Binale, is title a Garg’s popular song from his album Sobdo, and he said that it was one of the darkest songs he had ever written. Roi Roi Binale means crying inconsolably with pauses.
Most of the movie’s work was complete before Zubeen’s death, only major work left was his dubbing. It was speculated that the makers will have to use voice of someone else to complete the project. However, producer Bhuyan revealed that while dubbing by Zubeen Garg for his role was planned after return from Singapore, his original voice was recorded during shooting using a lapel mic. Bhuyan said that they were able to clean up that audio to be used in the movie.
The Assam government has announced that it will give its share of the GST on the movie to Kalaguru Artist Foundation founded by Zubeen Garg. Responding to demands for tax exemption for the movie, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that there is no Entertainment Tax in Assam, therefore there is nothing to exempt.
