Most women have cherished ideas of what constitutes an idyllic marriage. But more often than not, they tend to throw in the towel, compromise and give up on their dreams. Though Shamita Shetty has remained stoically single, she has oodles of optimism and conviction. She prefers to wait and follow in her sister Shilpa Shetty’s steps, to find that someone who meets all her expectations, someone like Raj Kundra.

“I am severely put off by arrogance, irresponsibility, dishonesty and lack of integrity. I want to marry a compassionate man who respects his woman and his family. Men who don’t believe in monogamy while they are in a committed relationship are a growing breed — I don’t want a man like that. I don’t mind waiting to find the perfect man to settle down with.”

“Love and respect are prerequisites for me; a sense of humour always helps. And of course, he should be someone who doesn’t take himself too seriously. Money is a requirement and a necessity, but not the most important thing,” she asserts. “When I’m out with friends, it’s no problem going Dutch. But when I’m out on a date, the man is expected to pick up the tab — call me old-fashioned! And as for a joint family, while I’ve been brought up in a nuclear family and never experienced a joint family, I’m not averse to it.”

In this new age, I have always wondered whether a woman would be concerned about religion, should her ideal man come her way. Would she quell her feelings if he belonged to another religion, but was perfect in every other way and met all her expectations? Shamita however, has realised with time and maturity, that religion, culture, tradition and the values inculcated by parents, play a very important role in life. “They form the basic foundation that we grow up with; and which definitely come from our religious beliefs.”

While Shamita was okay waiting for the right man, she didn’t believe in sitting around, waiting for life to happen. She decided to just get up and go for a study stint in London. “I just got tired of waiting for good work to come my way. I did not want to go to work and be unhappy about the work I did. I’d much rather sit at home or express my creativity in other ways, and so I decided to pursue new areas of interests.”

Among India’s men, she finds Amitabh Bachchan rather attractive. “He’s erudite, has panache and is extremely chivalrous. That’s a deadly combination! What a command of Hindi and English. Chidambaram is another favourite, he’s a great orator. I love the fact that he can roam around in a dhoti and still look sexy,” she avers.