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The Hindu : Why do we go to the movies? For some that is a no-brainer with ‘to be entertained and have a good time’ as the most obvious answer. But then, what about those who go to the movies to cry their hearts out? Go on and admit it, there are times when a movie moves us to tears and we do feel the better for it at the end of the maudlin marathon.

“It could be something to do with catharsis you know,” says Preethy, a doctor. “All that crying leaves one emotionally cleansed.” Pradeep Sarkar, fresh from helming the four-handkerchief weepie “Laaga Chunari Mein Daag,” also chooses the theatrical route to explain the waterworks phenomenon.

“There are nine rasas when telling a story and crying is a direct result of the karuna rasa. And one need not only cry when one is in pain. One can also weep with laughter or happiness. I believe that rone mein jo maza hai, woh hasne mein nahin hai.”

Like in every emotion, the empathy factor is huge. Just like a horror movie is all the more terrifying if you can identify with the situation, so too a tragedy becomes that much more teary if you can put yourself in the character’s place.

“I put myself in the protagonist’s shoes,” says Mythili G. Nirvan, Managing Director of a PR firm. “The thought that it could happen to me brings tears to my eyes. Family stuff makes me cry. Movies like ‘Baabul’, ‘Bhagban’ and ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’ had me reduced to tears.” Minu, a chartered accountant, says she cries for “stupid emotional stuff. I feel silly crying but I cry nevertheless.” The last film she cried for was for the hooker-with-heart-of-gold story, “Laaga…”.

With respect to gender and crying at the movies, Mythili believes that “men are wired differently. They seem to be able to be distance themselves…More