10 shows and movies to watch if you want a good cry, streaming on Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar and Amazon Prime Video

We challenge you to make it through this list without bawling like a baby

Shah Rukh Khan Preity Zinta movie poster dramatic romantic Bollywood

Capsizing ships and star-crossed lovers. Terminal ailments and heroic endings. There’s something weirdly cathartic about watching something that makes you have a good cry in between a difficult week. We aren’t talking about a dainty sniff or a stray tear either, but the kind of ugly crying that helps you air out all those pent-up feelings inside. On those nights when you are looking to get the waterworks started, here are all the movies and shows you’ll want to add to your watchlist. For best results, team your marathon with an endless supply of ice cream and Kleenex. You’ll thank us later.

Titanic (1997)

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In one of cinemaland’s highest grossing movies of all time, the eponymous cruise liner plays host to both, the most-loved onscreen romance as well as the most heart-wrenching tragedy. Starring a young Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio with electrifying chemistry, by the time you get to the tragic ending of their ill-fated romance, there won’t be a dry eye in the house.

Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar

Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003)

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The big list of feel-good features under his banner would lead you to think that nothing bad ever happens in a Karan Johar movie. Sure, there might be some ups and downs and maybe a decades-long estrangement, but by the time the end credits roll around, everyone is cosied up together and happy. Kal Ho Naa Ho, however, chose to swim against the tide when its lead actor loses his life to a heart condition, leaving behind a heartbroken Preity Zinta and Saif Ali Khan. Such was the heartbreak inspired by the movie’s climax that Johar has since said that he wishes he’d have changed the ending, while Shah Rukh Khan himself has claimed to have never shown the actual ending of the movie to his kids.

Streaming on Netflix

Veer-Zaara (2004)

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Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta came together again to reprise their blockbuster onscreen pairing a year later in this Yash Chopra directorial. When an Indian Air Force pilot falls in love with a Pakistani girl, their love is tested by opposing factions before coming to a poignant conclusion over two decades later with an emotional courtroom reunion that is guaranteed to make you ugly-cry.

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

Grey's Anatomy (2005 - Present)

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Now in its eighteenth season, Shonda Rhimes’ longest-running TV show is infamous for making the tear ducts flow. As a medical drama, death is often a frequent visitor at the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital but just when you think you’ve gotten a handle on it, the show will find new ways to make the floodgates break loose, from heartbreak to surprise character deaths.

Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar

Rang De Basanti (2006)

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With an ensemble cast headlined by Aamir Khan, Kunal Kapoor, Sharman Joshi, Siddharth, Atul Kulkarni, Soha Ali Khan and Alice Patten, the movie could have easily become the Dil Chahta Hai of its time. Instead, it goes on to define the modern patriotism for the country’s youth as six college friends go up against the establishment before meeting a valiant end.

Streaming on Netflix

Game of Thrones (2011 - 2019)

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Ask any Game of Thrones fan about the saddest moment of the TV series, and they’ll probably present you with a laundry list of tearjerkers. Based on the best-selling series A Song Of Ice And Fire, author George R R Martin’s penchant for pulling the rug out from underneath his audience means that you’ll spend multiple seasons watching characters grow and redeem themselves, only to meet an untimely death.

Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar

The Fault In Our Stars (2014)

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The fact that the movie’s premise is centred around two teens affected with cancer should give you a heads-up about how this story ends, but there is nothing that can quite prepare you for the rollercoaster of emotions as you follow the duo through romance and heartbreak. Based on John Green’s bestselling novel of the same name, prepare to weep—not a solitary tear, not a dainty whimper, but the runny nose and blotchy face kind of crying that will keep their story with you for a long time to come.

Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar

This Is Us (2016 - Present)

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Over the course of five seasons, the Emmy-winning show has managed to tug at our heartstrings in endless ways. With tragic twists brought to life by a stellar ensemble cast—featuring Mandy Moore, Milo Ventimiglia, Chrissy Metz and Justin Hartley, among others—the show will make you want to keep your family close, and the tissue box closer.

Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar

Neerja (2016)

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Based on the real-life events of Pan Am Flight 73 and the head purser Neerja Bhanot’s heroic attempts to thwart the hijackers, this 2016 biopic doesn’t promise a happy ending. Instead, what it delivers on is an undaunting ode to the spirit of humanity as its titular character played by Sonam Kapoor sacrifices her life in an attempt to save the lives of 359 out of the 379 passengers and crew onboard the plane.

Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar

13 Reasons Why (2017 - 2020)

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High school cliques and the struggle to fit in is nothing new in teen drama land, but 13 Reasons Why takes a closer look at the darker side of teenage bullying when its protagonist chooses to commit suicide and leaves behind a box of cassette tapes explaining why she made that decision. Commended and criticised in equal parts for taking an unflinching look at teenage issues, from suicide to sexual assault, the show isn’t an easy watch, but a necessary one nonetheless.

Streaming on Netflix

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