'Pay INR 499 to cry for an hour'- All about the unique Cry Club in Mumbai where propel pay fir crying their hearts out

Pay INR 499 to cry for an hour – hard to believe, right? But it’s happening, right here in India! Imagine an entry gate crowded with people who are registering themselves willingly to cry for an hour freely. Mumbai has always been a city of contrasts-on one side where dreams take shape with laughter and memories, on the other side many hearts often carry silent weights. Now, it has become the latest Indian city to embrace an unexpected yet deeply relevant human trend: community crying .
Just a few weeks back, the Mumbai Cry Club opened its doors at different locations across the city, offering guests a safe, judgment-free space to cry- no questions asked. Here, strangers gather and let their emotions flow freely without any conscious takes.

Yes, people are paying to cryEveryone in life must have experienced moments where after having a messy, vulnerable cry, suddenly the body feels relieved. That’s because that cry works like a source of relief. With this idea in mind, participants here pay a certain fee to join these sessions, showing that this is not an act of weakness but an investment in emotional well-being . Think of it this way: gyms charge us to sweat out toxins- same way here the charge is for releasing emotional burdens.

Ruikatsu theory says ‘A good cry is a luxury’The concept isn’t new. India’s crying clubs trace inspiration from Japan’s Ruikatsu-literally meaning tear-seeking activity-where people gather to cry in groups as a form of stress relief. Hidefumi Yoshida and Hiroki Terai are known by different names such as “Crying therapist,” “handsome weeping boys,” or ikemeso danshi, who saw that people are really lonely and by bringing them out of their closet and making them cry freely in front of strangers is a practice that makes these people stronger. What began in Tokyo in 2013 has now found a home in bustling Indian metros like Bengaluru, Pune, and now, Mumbai. The philosophy is simple: in a world that glorifies stoicism, these spaces normalize vulnerability. They tell people it’s okay to break down, to feel, to be human.

Why cry in front of ‘Strangers’?People often fear crying in front of those they know because of judgment, social expectations, and the fear of burdening loved ones. We grow up hearing that tears signal weakness, so we suppress them to maintain an image of strength. Crying in front of strangers, however, feels liberating – there’s no reputation at stake, no history to explain. In these judgment-free spaces, vulnerability is normalized and even celebrated, creating a rare sense of safety. Watching others cry also validates one’s own emotions, turning what was once a private struggle into a shared act of healing, which is why community crying is quietly becoming a powerful cultural trend.

Science strongly backs what these clubs are doing. Crying isn’t just cathartic, it’s biologically healing. Emotional tears release oxytocin and endorphins, natural chemicals that reduce pain and promote calmness. They also flush out stress hormones like cortisol, which results in better emotional balance.
A 2019 study in PsyPost found that people who cried during emotional triggers had steadier breathing, reduced heart rates, and faster recovery – a sign of the body’s self-soothing mechanism kicking in. Simply put, crying helps you heal inside and out.
Emotional outbreak normalized by celebrities in recent years:In recent years, several public figures have challenged the notion that tears equal weakness. Deepika Padukone, who spoke openly about depression, said, “It’s okay to not be okay – and it’s okay to cry.” A few days back, Aamir Khan, during the promotion of his movie Sitare Zameen Par, in an interview openly cried while talking about the past, friendships, and his pet, normalizing that tears can come no matter how good a moment you are passing through.
When the man behind this Cry Club was asked in an interview regarding the stereotypes related to crying, he replied that the idea is to make a safe space for those who don’t cry easily. Employees crying about jobs is comparatively common, but bosses crying with the pressure of handling employees? That’s rare. Men crying without the fear of losing their stigma tag? It’s time that people stop combining stereotypes with tears. Perhaps that’s the real magic of these spaces: not just the tears themselves, but the beauty in shared silence, where strangers become friends in a common quest – to feel, to heal, and to be unapologetically human.