(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

With people across age groups turning up at cinema halls for first shows at 4.25am on Friday, 'Roi Roi Binale' (I Kept Waiting In Tears), the final movie of the late Assamese cultural icon Zubeen Garg, has triggered extraordinary scenes of emotion across Assam.

A dream project of the legendary Assamese singer, songwriter, composer and actor - who passed away at the age of 52 in a tragic accident in Singapore on September 19 - 'Roi Roi Binale' broke the opening day box office record in Assam by collecting INR 25 million.

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Remarkably, all tickets across the state have been booked until November 15.

As a mark of respect for Zubeen, whose final journey brought 1.5 million grief-stricken people to the streets in Guwahati, theatres in Assam have cancelled all shows of Bollywood and South Indian movies to make way for 'Roi Roi Binale'.

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The musical drama, featuring the singer in the lead role as a blind musician, also hit the theatre in all major cities across India on Friday.

In Assam, teary-eyed people swarmed the theatres to watch their beloved star on the silver screen one last time.

Among them was a group of 40 visually impaired children from a local blind school.“We have grown up with Zubeen songs,” said one of the students.“So, we have come here to feel his music.”

With his genre-defining music and countless philanthropic acts, Zubeen pulled the deepest strings of the Assamese heart.

Now more than 40 days after his death, thousands of mourners still throng Kamarkuchi, a small village on the outskirts of Guwahati, where the singer was cremated with full state honours on September 23.

Naturally, Roi Roi Binale has now sparked an avalanche of emotion across Assam.

Preety Priyadarshinee, a Guwahati-based television journalist, usually approaches moviegoers for comments after a show.

But Priyadarshinee was at a loss for words when reporters from national television channels approached her for a comment outside of a cinema hall in Guwahati on Friday.

“The Assamese film industry has never seen anything like this - people coming to the theatres at four in the morning for the first show. So many standing in line so early... I don't even know what they came to watch,” said Priyadarshinee as she struggled to hold back the tears.

“Maybe they just wanted to see him one last time - to see him singing, his fingers on the keyboard, humming. It's so emotional.

“I don't think the people of Assam will ever come to terms with the fact that he's gone. We're still in denial. And maybe, for life to move on in Assam, we must continue to live in this denial - that Zubeen is still with us.”

What is Roi Roi Binale?

Roi Roi Binale was a Zubeen classic that featured in his 1998 album, Sobdo (Words).“Through this song, he had expressed his angst about the deadly separatist movements in Assam back in the day,” Sasanka Samir, an Assamese filmmaker, told the Khaleej Times.“But the emotions were very complex in the song, which also had shades of romance and longing.”

Drawing inspiration from the song, Zubeen started writing the story for a musical drama in 2004. The ambitious project eventually saw the light of day on Friday - but Zubeen could not get to see the outpouring of love for the film.

“This movie has seen unprecedented demand for tickets. Some theatres had the first shows at 4.25am,” said Samir.

“We don't have a confirmation yet, but it's probably a record in Indian cinema. I think the previous record for the earliest show in India was 6 am.

“People are not coming for the movie; it's all for Zubeen. We haven't seen such emotional scenes in theatres.”

Emotionally challenging

While people in Assam are now experiencing an emotional roller-coaster in theatres, completing the post-production work was the most emotionally challenging task for the team.

Zubeen was scheduled to oversee the post-production work after his Singapore trip. But his untimely death left the rest of the team with a mountain to climb.

Amrit Pritam, an acclaimed Assamese sound designer who has worked in several famous Indian movies, including 'Ghajini', 'Sawariya' and 'Robot' ('Enthiran' in Tamil), admitted that 'Roi Roi Binale' was the most challenging project of his life.

“The whole film is musical. And since Zubeen played the lead role - a blind singer - you're watching him the entire time on screen, performing, singing, feeling every note. That made it emotionally very challenging for all of us. It was probably the most difficult project of my career as a sound designer,” Pritam told the Khaleej Times.

Pritam, who had known Zubeen before the singer became a household name in Assam, is not surprised by the incredible scenes - from fans crying uncontrollably in theatres to a man carrying his 90-year-old grandmother to a morning show.

“They're crying because of what Zubeen means to them,” the Mumbai-based sound designer said.“Towards the end of the movie, when the title song Roi Roi Binale plays in his magical voice, it hits people deeply. When they walk out of the theatre, most of them can't hold back their tears.”

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