Bengaluru woman works on laptop during Lokah screening. Internet divided: Toxic work culture or personal negligence?

"Only in Bengaluru", someone joked, can a movie screening turn into an office cubicle. A Reddit post about a woman opening her laptop and working during the Lokah movie screening has set off a fiery debate online. While some see it as proof of the city’s crushing work culture, others argue it reflects poor judgment and lack of professionalism on the individual’s part. The viral post has now become a mirror to the larger conversation around work-life balance in India’s tech hub.

The original post read that the woman was “typing away like she’s in office, in a theatre,” with the user adding that it shows how deeply chaotic work culture has become—people can’t even switch off for two hours without job pressures creeping in. The comment struck a chord with many, leading to divided opinions.

Internet is divided

Some argued it might not be entirely her fault. One user suggested she could have been skipping work without informing and got stuck attending a mandatory meeting. Another pointed out that many employees working with US teams don’t have much choice if an urgent call comes through. A few called it negligence, stressing that such behaviour is unprofessional and could land her in trouble if colleagues or managers noticed.


Others shifted the blame to systemic issues. One person shared how their husband often had to take calls during weekends and holidays despite being off-duty. They argued that Bengaluru’s IT culture thrives on exploiting cheap labour and penalising workers for daring to have a personal life. According to them, the woman in the theatre was simply another casualty of this toxic environment.


At the same time, a few users urged people to be less judgmental, pointing out that sometimes emergencies force employees to work in the oddest of places. “You never know what’s going on with someone,” one wrote, adding that they themselves have had to pull out a laptop at unusual times just to respond to important team members.

And then, of course, came the memes. One comment joked that Narayana Murthy might repost the incident as a newly recommended company policy, perfectly summing up the mix of humour and frustration that this debate has sparked online.