Guwahati: Fans across Assam transformed cinema halls into spaces of remembrance on Friday as Roi Roi Binale (Tears Still Flow)—the final film of the late singer-composer Zubeen Garg—opened to packed houses and overwhelming demand.

At Anuradha Cinema in Guwahati, the first seat of the first show was left vacant in Garg’s memory. Audiences stood in silence before breaking into chants of “Zubeenda Amar Haok!” (“Long live Zubeenda!”). In Dhemaji, fans placed his portrait inside the theatre, adorned with flowers, before the screening began.

Directed by Rajesh Bhuyan and co-produced by Zubeen Garg, Garima Garg, and Shyamantak Gautam, the 146-minute film features Garg as a blind musician—his final on-screen performance. The role has deeply resonated with audiences, seen as both a cinematic farewell and a poignant reflection of his life.

The film’s trailer, showing Garg’s character lying unconscious on a beach, has drawn emotional parallels to his death in Singapore on September 19, when he reportedly drowned while swimming.

Exhibitors across the state have reported unprecedented demand. Some theatres are screening the film up to seven times a day, starting as early as 4:45 a.m. and running past midnight. Tickets are sold out across Assam for the week, while the film’s songs and trailer have collectively crossed over one crore views on YouTube.

Known for his outspoken views, Garg often described himself as a “social leftist.” One dialogue from the film—“I am an artist. And an artist should have only one politics: to stand with the masses, not with the monarch”—has struck a chord with fans mourning both the artist and the activist.

Distributed through UFO, Cube, and KSS, Roi Roi Binale is also being screened in select Indian cities, marking a rare nationwide release for an Assamese-language film.

As audiences continue to fill theatres across the state, Roi Roi Binale has become more than a movie—it is a collective farewell to a cultural icon whose voice, music, and spirit defined a generation.