Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh: India's Lonely Young Women and the Search for Intimacy and Independence

by Shrayana Bhattacharya

‘The guy who ghosts after three months of wonderful dates; the guy who starts chasing after another girl at a party you take him to; the guy who says he needs to be with a north Indian girl only after we’ve had sex; the guy who ignores all women he doesn’t find attractive and can’t talk to your female friends with respect; the guy who tells me that I should stop working if things have to become serious … there are all kinds of morons out there. My experience of trying to find a partner tells me that most men in Delhi can’t date or marry women who are more successful than them. They need a girl who depends on them completely, who will look at them the way I look at Shah Rukh. Some guys do this without realizing it. And others will pretend to be liberal initially, but it won’t last.’