New Delhi: Zubeen Garg’s last film Roi Roi Binale was released all over India on 31 October, with first shows starting as early as 4:35 am across cities in Assam. The film premiered at Nakshatra Cinemas in Lakhimpur, followed by early morning screenings in Dhemaji, Tezpur, and Guwahati. More than that, 23 shows are scheduled for Friday in Guwahati’s PVR at the City Center Mall and INOX Insignia alone.
It has never happened before in Assam that a film was screened in the wee hours. All tickets were sold out for the first day. People in Assam are sharing visuals of them thronging theatres early morning. Zubeen died on 19 September in Singapore while swimming. Assam observed a statewide mourning of four days.
Ganesh Talkies in Jagiroad, which was shut for years, was reopened for the film’s screening. There is no other cinema hall in the area.
Garg’s wife, Garima Saikia Garg, shared the late singer’s handwritten letter on Instagram, which says, “ Roi Roi Binale is my latest film. Come and watch. Love, Zubeen.” Garima captioned the post in Assamese, writing that her husband wrote this on 15 September. Addressing him as Goldy, she also wrote how she is still waiting for answers on what happened on 19 September with a broken heart.
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Madness, chaos and excitement
Videos of the singer’s old interview, where he mentioned the reopening of Ganesh Talkies in Jagiroad, are being reshared. “Let’s run to watch Assamese cinema,” Zubeen is seen saying. Fans have said they want to make sure their beloved singer’s wish is fulfilled.
One fan made a reel which shows the entire family in a car, up at 4 am, to go watch the film. Another creator shared a video of him holding the phone in an e-rickshaw, while his grandmother and others accompany him for the screening.
One creator mentioned how the entire hall was weeping throughout the film.
At Bongaigaon, angry fans clashed with the management of Jolly Max Cinema Hall as the first show at 7 am was cancelled due to a technical glitch.
Meanwhile, the state government has taken a resolution in the cabinet to donate the state’s share of GST collected through the film to Kalaguru Artist Foundation, established by Garg. Assam does not have an entertainment tax, so the film automatically will be tax-free.
The film has also been released in other cities of India, and has screenings in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Kochi, and even smaller towns like Ranchi and Dhanbad.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)