Some Spoilers Ahead
I saw Thai Massage on Netflix, as it’s been trending for a while and decided to give it a watch. I just loved it. It’s such a feel-good movie, hilarious yet poignant. Just felt like a warm hug after a long day. Thai massage will make you laugh and cry, and it’s just so beautiful.
Thai massage starts with Gajraj Rao as Atmaram Dubey, who’s a 70-year-old widower and has been celibate for years because of his ailing wife, who recently passed away. Post his wife’s death, he realises he’ll never have sex again and wants to experience intimacy one last time before he dies. This epiphany catapults him into a beautiful self-discovery, where he goes to Thailand to pursue sex. This outrageous journey defies many societal norms and is a treat to watch. Gajraj Rao wears his character up his sleeve and is brilliant, so effortless.
Thai massage shows the loneliness and exclusion an older man faces. Atma is lonely whose life revolves around his family and caring for his grandchildren. He has no social life, and his family respects him but never talks to him.
Then Atma discovers having erectile dysfunction and how his body doesn’t work the way it used to. He’s devastated by the news. He does crazy things to “get it up”, and Thai Massage starts as a hilarious movie where an old man wants to have sex one last time before he dies.
It showcases the loneliness and desire for intimacy that an older adult faces. How society only thinks of an older adult as someone who’d want to go on holy trips, devote their remaining lives to god, and have no desire or will to live, the general older adults stereotype that we all hold.
How if an older adult has any desire , it’s absurd and funny to us, and Divyendu , Atma’s friend, makes fun of Atma with his friends. Our society often forgets that an old aged person is a human and is allowed to do human things.
The movie’s first half is a bit of a drag, but it sums up beautifully. When Atma reaches Thailand in pursuit of sex, this movie strikes gold. He has quite a wild ride for a man who’s never been outside his hometown. He goes to Thailand all by himself. It’s tough for him at first which is depicted hilariously, but later on, he meets a beautiful young travel blogger who takes him to places. Atma, in the end, realises how it was never about sex for him. It was about experiencing new things. It was about living life.
Thai massage also shows the stigma of men talking about their sexual health and how these are typical human desires and psychology, and there’s nothing to be ashamed of. It showcases how Atma chose love and affection over just having sex and how sex shouldn’t be treated like a compulsion.
Summing up, ‘Thai Massage’ was a feel-good movie that will make you laugh, cry, and empathise with Atma. It’s a slow burn in the start but gradually grows on to you, and you’ll end up loving it. I would rate it 7/10 (I wish it wasn’t dragged in the first bit.)