Zubeen Garg: The Voice That Became Part of Assam

Zubeen Garg was one of the defining cultural figures of modern Assam. Over a career spanning more than three decades, he moved easily between Assamese popular music, Bihu songs, film playback, Bengali music and Hindi cinema, while continuing to return to the audience that made him a household name.

Born Zubeen Borthakur on 18 November 1972 in Tura, Meghalaya, he came from a family closely connected with literature and music. He later became known professionally as Zubeen Garg. His professional journey began early, and his debut Assamese album Anamika, released in 1992, announced a young artist with an unusually wide musical range. Before moving to Mumbai in 1995, he had already released several Assamese albums, including Xopunor Xur, Junaki Mon, Maya and Asha, as well as the commercially successful Bihu album Ujan Piriti.

National recognition came in 2006 with “Ya Ali” from the Hindi film Gangster. The song made his voice familiar far beyond the Northeast, but it represented only one part of an enormous body of work. For listeners in Assam, his career was never defined by Bollywood alone. His Assamese songs had already become part of everyday life—heard at homes, college functions, Bihu stages, concerts, roadside shops and countless personal playlists.

Garg died in Singapore on 19 September 2025, aged 52, while he was there in connection with the Northeast Festival, where he had been scheduled to perform. His death triggered an extraordinary wave of mourning across Assam and beyond.

A career that refused to stay in one lane

Zubeen Garg was difficult to classify because he rarely stayed within a single musical identity. He sang romantic songs, Bihu numbers, folk-based compositions, rock-influenced tracks and film songs. He worked in Assamese, Bengali and Hindi, among other languages and dialects. He was also a composer, lyricist, actor and filmmaker.

His work in Assamese cinema was equally significant. He acted, composed and directed, taking an active role in projects rather than remaining only a playback singer. His 2017 film Mission China, in which he was involved as actor, director and producer, became one of the most high-profile Assamese film projects of its time.

What separated Zubeen Garg from many successful singers was the scale of his connection with his audience. His public persona could be unpredictable and outspoken, but his popularity cut across generations. Older listeners remembered his early albums; younger audiences discovered him through films, concerts and digital platforms. PTI noted after his death that his music and public personality had made him an icon across generations.

Ten works that define Zubeen Garg

A career as large as his cannot be reduced to ten titles. This selection is therefore not a ranking. It highlights ten works that together show the breadth of his contribution.

1. Anamika (1992)

His debut album remains central to understanding the beginning of his professional career. Anamika introduced a new voice to Assamese popular music and helped establish the artistic identity that would grow dramatically over the following decades.

2. Maya (1994)

One of the early albums that strengthened his position in Assamese music, Maya belongs to the formative period of his career. Its importance lies in showing that his rise was built over several albums, rather than appearing suddenly after his later national success.

3. Ujan Piriti

Released before his move to Mumbai, this Bihu album was a commercial success and demonstrated his ability to work with Assamese popular and folk traditions without being confined by them.

4. Jantra

Released during the period when he was expanding his work beyond Assam, Jantra became one of the albums most closely associated with his independent Assamese musical output. It remains an important part of discussions about his non-film work and his experimental side.

5. “Mayabini”

Few songs have acquired the emotional place in Assam that “Mayabini” holds. Its continued public presence was evident even after his death: in November 2025, 25,000 artistes performed the song in Assamese and Bodo at a tribute event in Kokrajhar. The performance received recognition from the India Book of Records and the Asia Book of Records.

6. “Ya Ali” — Gangster (2006)

This was the song that took Zubeen Garg to a national audience. His breakthrough in Hindi cinema came with “Ya Ali” from Gangster, and the song remains his best-known Bollywood recording.

7. “Dil Tu Hi Bataa” — Krrish 3

“Dil Tu Hi Bataa” showed that “Ya Ali” was not an isolated Hindi-film success. It became another major playback number and demonstrated the continuing reach of his voice in mainstream Indian cinema.

8. “Gaane Ki Aane”

Among his Assamese works, “Gaane Ki Aane” remains one of the songs closely associated with Zubeen Garg's screen and musical identity. Its continuing cultural relevance is reflected in Assam Times' own coverage, including its feature “Gaane Ki Aane: The Real Zubeen On Screen.”

9. “Buku Duru Duru”

This song represents the popularity of his Assamese repertoire beyond the usual list of Bollywood hits. Retrospectives on his career have repeatedly placed it among the songs through which his music connected strongly with listeners across generations.

10. Mission China (2017)

More than a song, Mission China represents Zubeen Garg's wider contribution to Assamese cinema. His involvement as actor, director and producer reflected his ambition to work across the creative process and helped make the film one of the most discussed Assamese releases of its period.

More than a famous voice

Zubeen Garg's importance cannot be measured only through the number of songs he recorded or the awards and commercial successes attached to his name. His larger contribution was to prove that an artist could remain rooted in Assamese music while working across India.

“Ya Ali” made him nationally recognisable. “Mayabini” became something more intimate for Assam. His Bihu albums kept him connected to popular traditions. His work in Bengali and Hindi expanded his audience. His films showed another side of his creative ambition.

That combination explains why his death was felt as more than the loss of a successful singer. For many listeners, his music had followed the ordinary milestones of life for years. The songs remained because they were attached to memories—of home, friendship, love, travel, celebration and growing up in Assam.

Zubeen Garg died on 19 September 2025, but his recorded work continues to occupy a singular place in the cultural life of Assam. The best way to understand his legacy is not through one song or one phase of his career. It is in the movement between them: from Anamika to Mayabini, from Assamese Bihu music to “Ya Ali”, and from the recording studio to the Assamese cinema he helped shape.