Cinematic farewell to Zubeen Garg as his last film hits theatres

Zubeen Garg’s final film Roi Roi Binale releases on Friday, 31 October — not only across Assam but also in West Bengal, marking the widest-ever release for an Assamese film. Screens in Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Jorhat and Silchar have sold out a week in advance, with similar excitement reported from Kolkata.

The film — starring Garg as a visually impaired musician in a role now viewed as uncannily prophetic after his tragic death in Singapore last month — is seeing extraordinary emotional support. Exhibitors have added early-morning and past-midnight shows, some theatres screening seven shows a day, as fans prepare to bid farewell.

In West Bengal, multiplex chains have programmed multiple daily shows, signalling the unprecedented spillover of Assamese cinema into the neighbouring state’s mainstream commercial circuit. Industry insiders say the response from Kolkata has been “unexpectedly strong”, with several shows labelled “fast filling” on booking platforms.

These words from the trailer stand representative of the spirit of Garg: “The sea is really vast. Will I be able to swim?” — and a stirring declaration — “I am an artiste. And an artiste should have only one politics — to stand with the masses, not with the monarch!” — have deepened public emotion around the release.

According to Sourav Dutta, general manager (sales and distribution) at UFO Moviez India, the film will open on 91 screens in the Northeast and nearly 90 across India — a scale never before achieved by an Assamese film.

“Almost all shows for the next one week at BookMyShow are sold out or filling fast. We are working day-and-night to fulfil the demand. I have never seen such demand in this region in my entire career,” Dutta told PTI.

He said new projectors were being installed daily to meet exhibition requests.

The film will play in cities where Assamese cinema has never been screened before, including Lucknow, Indore, Kochi, Jaipur, Patna, Ranchi, Surat and Goa. A request has also come from Nepal, he added.

On average, five shows per theatre are planned, though some halls are pushing for seven. “We have advised not to do it in this way as the machine also needs rest,” Dutta said.

Distributor Siddharth Goenka said every theatre in Assam will screen Roi Roi Binale and the film is expected to run for at least two months. “There will be 600 shows every day and it is unthinkable for Assamese cinema,” he said.

Assam Police has deployed personnel for crowd management. “This is an emotional film and we are all looking forward to it,” said IGP (law and order) Akhilesh Kumar Singh.

In a tribute gesture, the Assam cabinet has decided to hand over the state’s share of GST from the film to Kalaguru Artiste Foundation, set up by Garg for social welfare.

Garg, known for his fiercely independent politics and admiration for Ché Guevara, Charlie Chaplin and Bishnu Prasad Rabha, often described himself as a “social-leftist”. He had once called Roi Roi Binale — originally a 1990s song — his “darkest” creation.

Directed by Rajesh Bhuyan and co-produced by Garg, his wife Garima and Shyamantak Gautam, the film's songs and trailer have already crossed one crore views on YouTube.

As Assam prepares to fill cinema halls at dawn to watch its beloved artiste one last time, Roi Roi Binale arrives not merely as a movie — but as a collective farewell, cultural moment and cinematic milestone.

With PTI inputs