Red Lab’s Valentine’s Research Uncovers 20 BF & 20 GF Types, led by Carol Goyal of Rediffusion, analyses conversations with 219 young Indians across major cities, blending pop culture, celebrity archetypes and dating psychology to decode contemporary relationship dynamics.  

Valentine’s Day may be over, but the after-effects are clearly lingering. This year, instead of roses and reels, what’s sparking conversations is a deliciously sharp cultural study led by Carol Goyal, Executive Director of Rediffusion, that has turned modern romance into a taxonomy of types.

Titled Valentine’s Research Uncovers 20 BF & 20 GF Types, the Red Lab report is based on conversations with 219 youngsters aged 18–35 across Mumbai, Pune, Delhi NCR, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Trichy, Vizag and Guwahati.

The aim? As Carol Goyal puts it, to “give Valentine’s Day a more interesting dimension” by sketching contemporary boyfriend and girlfriend stereotypes — and then giving each a celebrity face. “There were still more personas that got discussed. But for the sake of brevity, here are the Top 20 in each gender — you may agree with most and maybe disagree with some — but then that really is the fun of such a study,” she notes.

And fun it is.

The Girlfriend Era: Main Character Energy Only

The girlfriends are described as owning their narrative. Leading the charge is The Competitive Cutie GF, embodied by Smriti Mandhana — soft-spoken yet fiercely driven. She wins gracefully and expects her partner to level up.

Then there’s The Hi-Energy Firecracker GF, with Jemimah Rodrigues as the poster girl — expressive, chaotic, fiercely loyal. “If you’re lazy, you’re history,” warns the subtext.

Navya Naveli Nanda becomes The Purpose-Obsessed GF — socially conscious, intellectually grounded and quietly ambitious. For this type, sustainability and shared vision are more seductive than candlelight dinners. Norah Fatehi headlines The Boss Btch GF* — unapologetically ambitious, magnetically confident and playfully dominant. Low effort? Blocked.

Manu Bhaker, as The Sharp Shooter GF, represents authenticity and mental unbreakability. Mixed signals score zero. Faye D’Souza is cast as The Truth-Seeker GF — intellectually sharp, principled and no-nonsense. Being with her feels like living with a lie detector.

This is not the era of passive romance. It’s an era of standards, boundaries and clarity. The “Sunshine Softie” (Rashmika Mandanna) double texts because she feels deeply. The “No-Tolerance GF” (Kangana Ranaut) believes confrontation is clarity. The “Barbie GF” (Tara Sutaria) expects polish — and won’t apologise for it. In short: Valentine’s 2026 is not about chocolates. It’s about compatibility audits.

The Boyfriend Spectrum: Different Aura, Energy Unlocked

Flip the page and the boyfriends enter — moody, magnetic and occasionally meme-worthy.

Aryan Khan fronts The Touch-Me-Not Heir BF — ultra-private, low-drama, quietly controlled. If he posts you, something monumental has happened. Ibrahim Ali Khan plays The Jawline & Jokes BF — charming, smooth, effortlessly polished. Compliments you, and himself, simultaneously.

Ahaan Pandey becomes The Golden Retriever Star BF — fiercely warm, emotionally earnest and approval-seeking. If it ends, your dog will side with him. Aadit Palicha is The Young Unicorn BF — vision-driven, strategically relentless and future-focused. With him, love feels like momentum.

Nikhil Kamath represents Power-in-the-Pause BF — coldly calculated, calmly composed, long-term thinker. He reads rooms in silence. Shashi Tharoor is deliciously cast as The Oxford Wordsmith BF — quick-witted, intellectually commanding and strongly opinionated. Conversation is foreplay.

AP Dhillon becomes The Gully Boy BF — coolly magnetic, emotionally guarded yet intense. He won’t explain himself. He’ll drop a track.

Zohran Mamdani headlines The Policy & Passion BF — ideologically driven, commanding and articulate. Debates are practically a love language. Agastya Nanda rounds it out as The Old-Money Minimalist BF — deliberately reserved, impeccably polished and selectively visible. Status need not shout.

Across the board, these archetypes reveal a generation negotiating vulnerability and visibility in equal measure.

The Research Team Behind The Romance Radar

The report, supported by Red Lab, was created by Siddhanth Idnani, Rajesh Makwana, Jiral Waghela and Nikhil Kerkar. Their work transforms casual dating observations into pop-cultural sociology.

What makes the study sparkle is its tone — playful, self-aware and meme-ready. It doesn’t judge; it observes. It doesn’t moralise; it mirrors. 

Carol Goyal’s framing is key. The report is not about labelling people into boxes; it is about recognising the shifting aspirations of young India. Dating is no longer vague. It is data-backed, standards-driven and personality-aware.

Post-Valentine’s Day, couples may be jokingly asking: Are you a “Slow-Simmer Seducer” or a “Flash & Fire Maverick”? Am I dating a “Purpose-Obsessed GF” or a “Sunshine Softie”? In that laughter lies the brilliance of the study. It turns stereotypes into self-reflection. It gives Gen Z and millennials a vocabulary for their expectations.

And perhaps that’s the real after-effect of this Valentine’s Day — not heartbreak or bouquets, but a playful pause to ask: Where do you and your other half fit in?

Because as Carol Goyal reminds us, you may agree with most, disagree with some — but that really is the fun of such a study.

Love, it seems, has entered its research phase.

Read the full report here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12qEBjuBSB-EakcVc4HDeAHCvaBAkg1Mw/view?usp=drivesdk

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