Sonam Kapoor adores Nutan and Waheeda Rehman

She’s a style icon already as far as the younger crop of stars are concerned, but Anil Kapoor’s pretty daughter Sonam Kapoor says her own idea of classic beauty — with brains — is defined by the divas of yore.

“I simply adore Waheeda Rehman. From her acting to her choice of films — it needed guts to choose movies like Pyaasa or Guide — she went ahead with it. I thought Guide was a very bold movie. Rosie has shades of grey, and her character is not the clean and traditional Bollywood heroine that was the norm then,” she told After Hrs.

“I’m also very inspired by Nutan. I love her for her work in Bandini and  Saraswatichandra. Both have looked good and done path-breaking films. I love their quality of doing different things. They stood out as actors who are not just beautiful faces.”
While Sonam herself may still be looking to make a definitive mark for herself in films, her sense of style has already won the approval of her peers and industry watchers. What’s her secret? “I don’t follow the herd and I have my own style fundas which I stick by. I think it’s that which makes me stand out,” says the Masakali girl.

Sonam has some advice for people who like her sense of dressing. “Just try to be yourself and don’t copy anyone. It is individual style that grabs attention. I guess I’m very confident in any outfit I wear and that comes through. But the bottom line is that I love clothes,” she says.

Despite her confidence, Sonam admits that getting into the skin of the character she plays in her forthcoming project Aisha has proved to be a big challenge for her. “I have gone through two months of intensive workshop with my acting coach Jayati Bhatia. The character of Aisha, inspired from Emma in Atonement, is not like me at all. I’m slightly nervous.”

But music, she feels, is the key to getting it right. “I listen to the background score of Atonement to put me into the groove of the character. I’m a great fan of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pink Floyd, but for this one I’m listening to some Lady Gaga and Beyonce,” she ends.