In Zubeen’s film, glimpses of his life — and death

In tears after the movie, Baruah said, “I can’t help wonder if Garima bou (Zubeen’s wife, Garima Saikia Garg) could have been with him at that time, he might have still been alive with us today. It felt prophetic,” she said. After Zubeen’s death, Garima — also one of the film’s co-producers — publicly took the lead to complete the remaining post-production work and enable the film’s release on the scheduled date.

Roi Roi Binale — a mega-production with a run-time of 147 minutes and with 11 songs — opened to audiences on Friday. For a state still grieving the sudden loss of its most beloved cultural icon, a visit to the theatre is now a pilgrimage, and the film itself a precious artefact of his memory.

The screenings are emotionally charged. As the end credits roll and the movie hall goes silent, an audience member shouts: “Joi Zubeen da (Glory to Zubeen da).” Others follow suit, and a middle-aged man in the first row stands up, his voice cracking as he cries, “Justice for Zubeen da.” The dim theatre lights flicker back on to reveal an audience in tears after the final images of their icon

Garg’s popularity and his hold over the people of Assam have been evidenced by the mass mourning the state witnessed immediately after his death and the continuing, widespread pressure for closure and accountability. It has also become a talking point for political parties in an election-bound state, and prompted a police investigation in which seven people have been arrested so far. Yet, for his family and fans, what is still missing is a comprehensive sequence of events leading to his death while swimming in the sea during a yacht outing, while in Singapore to perform at a music festival.

The weight of this loss and grief has led fans to line up outside theatres to witness Garg on the big screen. According to its distributor Siddhartha Goenka, the film opened to 91 theatres across Assam, as well as in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and even places where an Assamese audience seems less likely, such as Coimbatore, Ranchi and Patna.

“In the geographical area of Assam, there is no other film being screened, including in multiplexes. This has never happened before. It is being screened in 100 screens outside the Northeast, deep into territories that Assamese films have never reached before,” he said.

With emotions soaring, police and paramilitary personnel have been stationed outside movie theatres in Assam for “crowd management”.

For audiences, the film mirrors reality in unmissable ways. The movie — a romance centred around the rise of a visually-impaired musician played by Zubeen — repeatedly expresses discomfiture about the business side of the music industry, the rights of musicians over their own music, and the commercialisation and political co-option of artists. These are all subjects that have gripped the state in the aftermath of his death, with the primary subjects of public ire becoming his manager, the organiser of the Singapore festival he was supposed to play and the political class. The rallying cry of “Justice for Zubeen” centres on the idea that he was being exploited for commercial interests.

“It showed us the complexity, the inner life of a person whom we see as a famous face. His thoughts about artists and their struggles, his passion for music and his love for nature. It is such a coincidence that his final work for us was about something so close to him, and it’s heartbreaking that this is the last we see from him,” said 51-year-old Babita Patgiri, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief after the movie.

The phenomenon that is sweeping Assam has movie theatres reorienting the way they operate. At the popular PVR theatre at City Centre in Guwahati, all five theatres are only screening Roi Roi Binale for the next week, a total of 28 screenings every day. Most are sold out.

At Anuradha Cineplex — one of the few remaining single-screen theatres in the city – the usual four daily shows have been increased to six shows in response to the demand, starting from 8 am and with the last show at 9:45 pm.

“There are 438 seats in the theatre and all are completely booked up for the entire week,” said Biren Baishya, who works at the box office there. On the opening day itself, he turned away many people looking for a ticket. One of these people was Aprul Deka (41), who said he is seeking xanti (peace) through watching the film. “I have been so restless since dada died. I want to see what he sought to show us before passing away. There are no tickets right now, but I will wait, and I know that I will watch it again and again,” he said.

Rajiv Bora, president of the Assam Cinema Hall Owners Association, said that the film is unlikely to leave theatres soon, given the unprecedented demand.

“This is not a movie; it is a piece of people’s emotions, and the scenes in the halls, the levels of emotions, are unprecedented. Cinema halls are already showing more than their normal number of shows, and we are expecting it to run for around four-five months,” he said. “Zubeen’s dream was to revive Assamese cinema in a big way, and I think we are seeing it unfold at this moment. Unfortunately, he is not here to witness it being fulfilled.”