Pakistan’s most celebrated and anticipated awards of the year, Lux Style Awards are scheduled to take place in July 2019. Highlighting achievements in fashion and entertainment, the awards honour artisans from the media fraternity. But, after announcing the list of nominees yesterday, the LSA jury received backlash for snubbing some of the most prominent projects of 2018. Here’s a list of artists who reacted strongly after the nominations were announced:
1. Mohsin Abbas HaiderÂ
Not only owing to Mohsin Abbas Haider’s riveting performance as a child predator but, also because of the story which tackled the issue of child sexual abuse, Meri Gurya received a powerful and positive response from the audience last year. However, the play is not nominated under the Best TV Play category and Mohsin is disappointed. Although he is nominated as the Singer of the Year for Na Ja featuring Sohail Haider, he expressed his disdain for snubbing the socially relevant play from the nominations. In an Instagram post, he wrote,
“First of all thank you for nominating our song Na Ja in the Best Singer of the Year category. But I am highly disappointed not to see a single nomination of our drama Meri Gurya. I don’t know the reason (which I would love to know if any), but this is very disrespectful for the whole team of the play. And thanks for making my belief more strong that let’s just make money and run our kitchens, thanks.”
Read: Fashion & entertainment nominations for the 18th Lux Style AwardsÂ
2. Eman Suleman
Nominated under the Best Emerging Talent in Fashion category, budding model Eman Suleman has boycotted the awards saying she doesn’t want to share an LSA nomination with someone who has been accused of sexual harassment. Eman, however, did not take any names. In a minute long video message, the model expressed her discomfort in these words: “I was extremely honoured to be nominated for the Lux Style Awards but, what I’m going to say next is going to result in a lot of eye rolls. I am tired of talking about it, honestly. I do not wish to be a part of an accolade which is shared with an alleged harasser, I feel no joy. Maybe nominate someone who feels happy about it, I don’t. I am basically done [with this].”
3. Ahsan RahimÂ
Although director of Teefa in Trouble, Ahsan Rahim is nominated for his film in the Best Director category, he expressed his disappointment after seeing that his film’s music did not get the recognition it deserved. He called it ‘discrimination and a biased’ decision in a Twitter post.
@omair78 @Fareshte @KamranJawaid @LuxStyleAwards @FriehaAltaf
My appeal to the team of #LSA2019, #unilever and those who believe in standing for the right. pic.twitter.com/OIVTLwbOKX— Ahsan Rahim (@theotherahsan) March 30, 2019
“It goes to show how certain biases of certain individuals can turn the game upside down just because they don’t like you or your film personally or you didn’t let them use your music for free for their performances. I won’t be surprised if my film -the biggest non-holiday blockbuster of all times in Pakistan- goes unnoticed at the awards just because the voice of a few in charge is louder than many millions,” he wrote.
4. Shani Arshad
After the OST of drama, Koi Chand Rakh was not announced as a nominee for Best Original Sound Track, the composer of the song Shani Arshad shared his thoughts on Twitter and said that the jury should do thorough research beforehand as the LSAs are the highest media fraternity honour in Pakistan. He wrote that the song was “one of the most popular OST of the year and more popular than the nominated ones.” The jury nominated Aangan, Dar Si Jati Hai Sila, Ghughi, Khaani and Naulakha in the category.
Koi Chand Rakh is one of the most popular OST of the year and more popular than the nominated ones, but not added in the #LSA2019. Some research is needed before announcing the biggest awards of the country. pic.twitter.com/Lit8JArEZ9
— Shani Arshad (@shaniarshadali) March 30, 2019
