Queer coding in Hindi cinema 

Filmmakers in India and around the world have been indulging in the practice of queer coding, that is, writing characters with ambiguous sexuality, hinting through recognisable signifiers and tropes. The practice, which started as a means to bypass laws against LGBTQ representation in cinema, has become troublesome for the community.

For years when queerness could not be spelt out on screens, filmmakers used clichéd characteristics to express the sexuality of a character to send a message to those in the know in the audience without divulging, which has come to be known as queer coding.

Source: Queer coding in Hindi cinema – Media India Group