Framing of Stereotypes and Biased Content Against the Third Gender: A Comparative Analysis of the Hindi and Urdu South Asian Cinema of the 21st Century

This paper offers a comparative analysis of how the third gender (hijra, khawaja sira, kinnar) is represented in 21st-century Hindi and Urdu cinema, examining films from Bollywood (India) and Lollywood (Pakistan) released after 2010. Using Robert Entman's framing theory alongside Shanto Iyengar's typology of thematic, episodic, and issue-based frames, the study investigates how identity, agency, and representation of the third gender are constructed on screen, and how these portrayals have evolved over the past decade. Adopting an interpretivist and postmodernist qualitative approach, the research applies audio-video content analysis to five key films — Queens! Destiny of Dance (2011), Laxmii (2020), Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui (2021), Bol (2011), and Joyland (2022) — to trace how stereotypes rooted in South Asian patriarchal discourse shape mainstream cinematic narratives. The findings show that representation remains largely thematic and stereotype-driven (comic relief, criminality, victimhood), though a shift toward issue-based, rights-oriented framing is emerging in more recent films, particularly Bol and Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui. This work contributes to the limited scholarship comparing Indian and Pakistani cinema on this subject, filling a notable gap in the literature — especially regarding Lollywood, where academic attention has been minimal. Keywords: South Asia, Third Gender, Bollywood, Lollywood, India, Pakistan, Framing Theory, Cinema Studies, Gender Representation