Journal of Postcolonial Writing· 2026Q1
Performing gender in liminal spaces: Subversion and negotiation in Rajkumar Hirani’s Dunki (Donkey Route) and Anurag Singh’s Dil Bole Hadippa! (The Heart Cries “Hurray!”)
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- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Two films, Dunki and Dil Bole Hadippa!, depict rural Punjabi women subverting traditional gender roles, challenging patriarchal norms, and constructing self-empowering identities through performative gender expression.
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Key points
- Cinematic representations in Dunki and Dil Bole Hadippa! explore gendered social landscapes in rural Punjab.
- Female protagonists subvert traditional gender norms and construct self-empowering identities.
- Characters embody hybridity, discarding prejudices while resisting social restrictions.
- An intersectional framework and Judith Butler's concept of performativity show gender identity as fluid and socially constructed.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
The article traces cinematic representations of rural Punjab’s gendered social landscapes that depict women performing heterogeneous gender roles through textual analyses of Rajkumar Hirani’s (2023) Dunki and Anurag Singh’s (2009) Dil Bole Hadippa!. It examines narratives of subversive female protagonists in postcolonial Punjab who challenge archetypal gender norms and construct self-empowering identities shaped by historical trauma, sociopolitical turbulence, and patriarchy. Culturally complex female characters are read as embodying hybridity and contradiction as they remain rooted in Indian culture while discarding prejudices and resisting social restrictions, yet overthrowing western epistemology and its enduring cultural hegemony. Using an intersectional analytical framework, the article draws on Judith Butler’s concept of gender as performative to show that cinematic subversion of roles in Dunki and Dil Bole Hadippa! renders gender identity as fluid and socially constructed. These representations are situated in the specific sociopolitical contexts of rural Punjab that enable shaping and contesting gendered performances.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Journal of Postcolonial Writing, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: Visual Arts and Performing Arts
Visual Arts and Performing ArtsArts and Humanities