Cinematic Transnationalism: Migration, Identity, and Cultural Displacement in Dunki

Abstract

This study looks at how the modern Bollywood movie Dunki (2023) depicts the cultural, legal, and emotional aspects of illegal migration. The study is based on the theoretical framework of Steven Vertovec's transnationalism and is driven by two main goals: examining how Dunki depicts cultural displacement in transnational contexts and analyzing how it depicts the emotional and identity difficulties of migrants. Emotional geographies of migration, liminal identity, illegality and erasure, cultural resistance, memory as transnational practice, and Dunki as a transnational cinematic tale are the six main themes identified by the study through a qualitative thematic analysis. Close readings of scenes, character arcs, and symbolic motifs were used to develop these topics. Special attention was paid to how language, setting, and visual metaphor in cinema embody international affect. The results show that Dunki emphasizes the psychological consequences of migration rather than romanticizing it. The characters are depicted as managing divided identities, legal precarity, and cultural dissonance while emotionally balancing their home and host country. Dunki transforms into a narrative and a global performance act by transforming Vertovec's abstract ideas into a lived cinematic experience. By showing how South Asian film can bring migration theory to life through a complex depiction of displacement, resiliency, and the never-ending quest for belonging, this work advances multidisciplinary scholarship.