Raj From DDLJ Is No Indian Woman's Dream In 2025 — Here's What They Want In Their Partner

Gone are the days, hopefully, when harassing a woman on a moving train was seen as 'peak romance'. The 'bad boy' in leather jacket fever seems to be fading away. No amount of songs sung over a ukulele in an open mustard field can portray someone like Raj as the 'it' boy anymore. So what can?

Now, take into account a survey done to map what the modern woman needs from her partner. An Indian dating app's survey report titled, "Forget cars, cryptos, and height: 7615 Women revealed what they actually care about", has found out that emotional intelligence, maturity and kindness are some key traits which the modern-day Indian woman looks out for in their romantic prospects.

The survey, as the name suggests, mapped 7,615 female users of the app from Tier 1, 2, and 3 cities, aged between 22 to 35 and the results debunk a lot of conjectures surrounding "the dream man".

As per the survey, four out of six women aged between 22-35 feel that a nonchalant, hot-and-cold attitude puts them off, instead what they desire is reciprocity, effort and men who show a decent amount of eagerness; timely replies, texting after a date, and even double texting are considered attractive.

The narrative that men should 'hold back' and seem disinterested to look more attractive gets thrown out the window because the study data suggests over 55% of women love men who show a decent amount of eagerness; 37% of respondents appreciate it when their match sends follow-up messages after a date while 8% of women said that when a match does not reply on time, they usually lose interest or assume that the guy is not interested.

Compliments need to be handed from the front; 48% of women surveyed , especially those under 25, said they felt underconfident and uncomfortable after receiving a backhanded compliment and didn't know how to respond.

"You are pretty for someone with a darker complexion. I've heard this so many times, and I don't know why anyone would think that it's a compliment. Or, this dress suits you, despite being chubby. I usually reply with an unmatch, online or IRL", shared Avni Sinha, a 26-year-old wedding planner from Kolkata as part of the survey.

When dating seriously, looks do not really matter; well at least that is what 49% of the respondents feel. While 23% women would prefer conventionally good looking men, kindness, emotional intelligence, personality, and efforts is what it takes to seal the deal for a majority of the rest. Believe it or not, being tall and listing it on their dating profile bio is no longer getting men any brownie points, only plain old cringe.

So, just forget about the price tag because ambition is where it's at. While financial stability is significant for 36% women in tier 1, 2, and 3 cities; love is not found in treasure chests. Most of these women think that those men who brag about material possessions online is "anything but attractive".

The sexist notion of women being gold diggers, who only want to bag a rich husband stands baseless as "three in four women said they prefer an ambitious and honest man who can build a secure future for themselves over a rich brat", the report stated.

"Healthy relationships don't have alphas and betas. Both partners should be equal, and neither fear being controlled nor try to control the other. And, in my experience, matches who came with the 'I won't let her control me' attitude have immense false egos. No women want that", said Rohini, a successful architect.

Over 42% of women say that a relationship that starts with a fear of a power struggle is most likely to fail. Three in six women are not looking to "control" or "dominate," but they also want men who are secure enough to not fear considering their partner as an equal and, sometimes, hold their opinion in higher regard.

This evolution in choices and preferences emerges from an array of variable and unique factors that are responsible for shaping the womens' experiences. Although, what appears to be clear through this survey is that the DDLJ train left the station many moons ago, without any Simrans chasing after it.