Woman left corporate to pursue art after watching Tamasha. Now she's back job hunting

A woman in her 30s said watching Tamasha led her to leave her corporate job and pursue painting full-time. But reality had a surprise for her.

In Short

• Woman quits corporate job after watching Imtiaz Ali’s Tamasha
• Pursues full-time art career post a diploma in arts
• Attempts to rejoin corporate sector in her 30s for stability

Watching Imtiaz Ali’s Tamasha in your 20s usually results in an existential crisis, a sudden urge to quit your job, or at the very least, a long Instagram caption about “finding yourself”. But for one woman, the film ended up changing the course of her life entirely.

The story was shared by an X user named Harsh, who said he recently met a woman interviewing for jobs after a two-year career gap. According to his post, the woman had landed a campus placement and spent six years working in the corporate sector before deciding to leave it all behind to pursue art full-time.

Harsh wrote that the woman watched Imtiaz Ali’s Tamasha, a film widely associated with themes of identity, burnout and chasing one’s true passion, and realised she wanted to become an artist.

“She said she got campus placed, worked in corporate for 6 years, then watched Tamasha and realised she wanted to be an artist and pursue painting full time,” he wrote.

According to the post, she eventually quit her job and enrolled in a diploma course in arts. After completing the programme, she spent the next few years trying to build a career through exhibitions and selling her paintings.

“She loved doing it,” Harsh noted. But eventually, financial pressures caught up.

“The money ran out and reality caught up. Now she’s trying to return to corporate life for stability,” he wrote.

The post struck a chord online because it captured both sides of chasing passion — the courage to try and the harsh realities that often follow.

Harsh summed it up by writing, “The good part is she’ll never live with the regret of not trying. The bad part is she’s almost restarting her corporate career from scratch in her 30s.”

He concluded the thread with a blunt observation: “Moral of the story: follow your passion at your own risk. The economy is brutal.”

The internet, meanwhile, had mixed reactions. Some users admired the woman for taking a leap many only dream about, saying at least she would never wonder “what if”. Others pointed out how difficult creative careers can be without financial safety nets, especially in unstable economic conditions.

Several people also said the story reflected a larger millennial dilemma, the constant conflict between passion and survival, because the Deepika Padukone - Ranbir Kapoor starrer film was, after all, fiction.

- Ends