Rewind a decade, or more. To a time of celluloid innocence, a time of histrionics and performance but little style. A time when a teenaged Karisma Kapoor, daughter of the first family of stardom, broke through familial taboos of girls joining the industry and stepped into roles that belied her age. Albeit with the carelessness of the very young, guided by the lack of aesthetics of directors and bushy eyebrows to boot! This was not a time when Bollywood would score brownie points for style! And remember, the girl who was churning out films then, had more energy and gumption than pizzazz, being all of 16 years old.

Rewind half a decade or so to Yash Chopra's super-hit, Dil To Pagal Hai. "It all started with that, where designerwear became the trend for films. And with Raja Hindustani, the whole look became important." While DTPH put fitness inspired sports looks on the fashion radar, the commercially successful, Raja Hindustani, had young moviegoers begging for the straight hair look that Karisma sported.

A look that, may we add, has somehow remained in the audiences' psyche even today. "Yes, Karisma has been iconic in changing the look in Hindi films," says designer, Manish Malhotra, style Higgins to Karisma's Eliza Doolittle. He recalls the sincerity and hard work that the young actor put into her makeover. "When we put the brown lenses on her for Raja Hindustani, her eyes had gone completely red but she faced the camera with confidence. My whole aggression she supported. Together, we completely changed the style of Hindi cinema."

She owns a two-and-a-half cupboard large, wardrobe. (Though she does admit to a Delhi wardrobe and a Mumbai wardrobe, with key pieces often flying up and down with hubby, businessman, Sunjay Kapur). "I remember many instances where I would be in a really heavy outfit and they would say, 'gale mein kuch lagao'. I would be cringing. Nobody understood then that less is more!"

While the young actor endeavored to bring fashion realism to Bollywood, there have been roles that she completely enjoyed portraying. "For me it was a gradual growth as an actor and my style growth and growth as a woman all happened together. In Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge, I liked my clothes, in Haseena Maan Jaayegi, I had worn baggy jeans, which was unheard of for an actress in those days."

Her favourite looks were in Fiza and Zubeidaa which were perhaps also her finest performances, meriting Best Actress Awards. "In Zubeidaa, my look was very 1950s, glamorous and authentic. I wore real jewellery from Gem Palace and some of the outfits were also genuine antique pieces. While, in Fiza, I was in Lucknowi outfits off the road and no make-up."

While these real life portrayals did not inspire her personal look in any way, brining an actual character to life took a toll of her emotionally, Karisma admits now. "I was being myself and yet a character. It was very haunting, emotional. By then, I had just had it. In Hollywood, you find this kind of thing -- like Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich but not in Bollywood."

Who would have imagined that so many years after Karisma vanished from the silver screen, a veteran of 75 films, almost as many looks and several awards, she would continue to capture the imagination of the public and an aggressive press. This is the age of multi-taskers and she is one of them. Her pictures waft around the electronic highway, even as she continues to make her private style statements. This works for her. The images on line stand out.

She has a model's figure that she puts down to good luck though she insists that she has (and probably controls) the Kapoor trait of love of good food. "The power yoga that Kareena goes, is too much for me. I prefer Pilates." She has always been very fashion conscious, even as a child she knew exactly what she wanted. After all, she has been born in a blue-blooded home: Kareena Kapoor.

Previously on Spotlight:
Soha Ali Khan
Imraan Khan
Lara Dutta
Kunal Kapoor
Minissha Lamba
Arjun Rampal
Mallika Sherawat
Neil Nitin Mukesh
Malaika Arora Khan
Sonam Kapoor
Shilpa Shetty
Kangna Ranaut
Rani Mukherji
Aamir Khan
Salman Khan
Amitabh Bachchan
Emraan Hashmi
Amisha Patel
Abhishek Bachchan
Shahid Kapoor
Priyanka Chopra
Neha Dhupia
John Abraham
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
Preity Zinta
Akshay Kumar
Shahrukh
Kajol
Katrina Kaif
Kareena Kapoor
Bipasha Basu
Saif Ali Khan
Deepika Padukone
Ranbir Kapoor
Hrithik Roshan