BEYOND BORDERS, BEYOND HATE: PUNJABI CINEMA AS A THIRD SPACE FOR RECLAIMING THE LOST HARMONY OF THE PRE-PARTITION ERA
Keywords:
Jee Ve Sohneya Jee, Partition, Punjabi Cinema, Third Space, Toba Tek SinghAbstract
The prospect of cultural reconciliation between India and Pakistan remains overshadowed by the enduring colonial legacy, particularly the trauma of Partition and its divisive impact on shared identities. This study explores how Punjabi cinema portrays colonial history and its enduring impact, focusing on Jee Ve Sohneya Jee (2024) and Toba Tek Singh (2018), the latter of which is based on Saadat Hasan Manto’s renowned short story. By engaging with Homi K. Bhabha’s Third Space theory, we argue that Punjabi cinema serves as a site of cultural and cinematic hybridity, fostering unity through the representation of shared heritage and rejecting colonial-imposed binaries. The analysis section of this study reveals that Toba Tek Singh portrays how Partition transformed once-harmonious communities into sites of division, where identities were forcefully aligned with nation and religion—an outcome of colonial intervention that disrupted the fluidity of cultural belonging. In contrast, Jee Ve Sohneya Jee presents a vision of coexistence, depicting Indo-Pakistani characters living and eating together, reviving the unity that existed before Partition. Both films illustrate that it was colonial rule that strategically manufactured divisions between Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs, ‘to serve imperial interests’ (Communist Ghadar Party of India 2022). This, in turn, creates a space where India and Pakistan can recognize their shared heritage, challenging colonial narratives that continue to shape contemporary divisions.
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