Piracy mars Zubeen Garg’s final film 'Roi Roi Binale'; makers seek strict action

Guwahati, Nov 9: The makers of Roi Roi Binale, the final cinematic work of late cultural icon Zubeen Garg, have voiced deep concern over the large-scale piracy of the film, barely nine days after its release.

At a press meet on Saturday, the film’s director, producer, and members of Assam’s film fraternity urged authorities to take swift and stringent action against those behind the leak.

Director Rajesh Bhuyan said the team initially ignored short clips circulating online, believing they were recorded by fans as a mark of remembrance. However, the situation soon spiralled out of control.

“We remained silent because we thought fans wished to preserve Garg’s memory. But the duration of recordings increased to five minutes, ten minutes, up to one hour. Now, the entire cinema has been pirated and uploaded. That’s really unfortunate,” Bhuyan said.

He added that Garg had always stood against piracy and dreamt of taking Assamese cinema to global platforms.

“If such circumstances continue, Garg’s dream of a thriving Assamese film industry will never succeed. I urge everyone to take down all the pirated clips from YouTube and other public pages and to punish those accused,” Bhuyan appealed with folded hands.

Producer of the film, Shyamantak Gautam said he had gone without proper food and sleep for three days while working to remove illegal uploads.

“It’s like Raktabeej, as we take down one accused, another ten appear. Most accounts uploading pirated copies have fake names and zero subscribers. We have identified a few, Aking Bhai, Akram Hussain, Ankita Boruah, Zubeen Fan Club, Papu, Assamese Reel Video, Arun Axom, and others,” he said.

Filmmaker Manas Baruah, a member of multiple anti-piracy groups, called the situation “deeply distressing.”

“There are people who have even premiered the pirated version on YouTube. As Rajesh Bhuyan said, the film was like a child to Zubeen, and people have butchered its parts. We make films for our people, but it is our own who are doing this,” Baruah remarked, adding that lenient action against offenders, who are released within days, was encouraging others.

Representing the All Assam Cinema Hall Owners’ Association, general secretary Rajeev Bora expressed frustration that piracy persists despite repeated warnings.

“We knew there would be attempts, but never imagined such intensity. We cannot ban phones inside halls, but we have deployed security to monitor recordings during screenings. Even then, some continue these acts,” Bora said.

He appealed to the public to watch Roi Roi Binale in theatres as a tribute to Garg.

“It’s disheartening that even after lakhs came out to mourn him, we are seeing his last work being pirated. I urge everyone to honour him by keeping his last creation alive,” Bora added.

The team collectively called on authorities, digital platforms, and the public to join hands to combat the growing menace of piracy that threatens to undercut cinema’s hard-earned momentum following an emotional release.