The most coveted annual Awards that acknowledge excellence in entertainment and fashion, the 18th annual Lux Style Awards were held last night amidst much furore in Karachi. The LSAs might be known for showcasing Pakistan’s finest TV, film and fashion talent but the show also plays host to some of the biggest and best red carpet fashion of the year.
After over a month’s pre-event hype, did the Lux Style Awards 2019 deliver to expectations? We breakdown the highlights, the letdowns and the extremely awkward moments from the glamourous night!
THE HIGHLIGHTS
Setup & ambiance
From the ginormous red carpet area to the show arena, the d̩cor of the venue was top notch. Other than the gilded LSA backdrop, there was a psychedelic photo-booth as well for stars to try out something innovative. The stage was spacious, well decorated in signature Lux colours Рblack and gold. The lighting changed according to the mood of the performances. Good space was allocated for the media persons to avoid any media frenzy.
Iqra Aziz got proposed!
Iqra Aziz thanked the love of her life (without taking Yasir Hussain’s name) after receiving her first award for Best TV Actress (Viewer’s Choice) that night. We have yet to figure out if Yasir’s proposal was staged, rehearsed or a surprise for Iqra, but it was one of the most adventurous moments of the night was when Yasir knelt down on one knee and proposed to Iqra Aziz (yes, with a ring). Needless to say all phones were out to capture the memorable moment. It was beautiful and emotional and Yasir got a confirmation as the girl said YES!
A win for Dar Si Jati Hai Sila
It was a moment of pride when Bee Gul won Best Writer for Dar Si Jati Hai Sila. The drama serial indeed deserved all the praise and applause and when a platform like LSA recognizes such plays, it strengthens our belief in good television content. Bee Gul spoke about how she had to pen a response to PEMRA’s objections that ‘the drama makes viewer’s feel uneasy in their bones’. “I wrote that if it makes you uncomfortable, then we’re doing it right!” she said.
Director of the play, Kashif Nisar also received an award on behalf of Noman Ejaz and rightfully pointed out that “now we should make an award in the name of Noman Ejaz.” Considering his unparalleled acting prowess, we agree!
Atif Aslam crooned ‘Thaam Lo’
Well, there is no denying the fact that Atif is Pakistan’s biggest star and surely knows how to captivate the audience. His performance on Parwaaz Hai Junoon’s melodious number ‘Thaam Lo’, included a gig on the piano and the guitar as well. Absolutely loved it!
Mehwish, Maya, Meera & Saba Qamar danced the night away
LSA 2019 witnessed the three Ms in full bloom; Meera, Maya and Mehwish along with neo-Lux girl Saba Qamar all gave phenomenal performances. While Meera, Maya and Saba performed on yesteryear’s gems, Mehwish performed with her Load Wedding co-star Fahad Mustafa on their movie songs. Mehwish also performed solo because she very well can!
Legendary actress Shabnam shares the stage with her co-star NadeemÂ
LSA awarded the iconic actress of Pakistan’s film industry, Shabnam, with the Unilever Chairman’s Achievement Award. The actress made everyone in the audience laugh when in the middle of a sweet exchange of compliments, she asked Nadeem sahib, “Baig sahib aap mere 30 saal ke career mein hamesha late aye… aaj kese jaldi aa gaye? [Baig sahib, you always came late in my career of 30 years, how did you manage to be on time today?]”
Nabila received a Lifetime Achievement Awards from her sons
Hair and make-up guru, image consultant and a force to be reckoned with, Nabila was awarded the Lifetime Achievement in Fashion Award and it was presented to her by her two sons, Zahir and Zakir in an emotional tribute. Nabila spoke about influencers of the moment and how they could put their influence and millions of followers to better use.
The director’s league
Five film directors – who have or will be presenting their motion pictures this year – Asim Raza, Ehteshamuddin, Sangeeta, Saqib Malik and Sarmad Khoosat each introduced and rooted for one filmmaker in the Best Director category. Saqib Malik praised Ahsan Rahim for Teefa in Trouble, Sangeeta loved Nadeem Baig’s JPNAÂ 2 for its box office success, Ehteshamuddin lauded Nabeel Qureshi for Load Wedding’s strong content and Asim Raza commended Asim Abbasi for a layered film like Cake. Maya Ali took the trophy for Ahsan Rahim’s big win!
PS: We have’t missed Sarmad Khoosat, but you can scroll down and find out why he isn’t mentioned here!
THE LOWLIGHTS
We didn’t get enough of Mahira
We saw Mahira at the red carpet, alongside Superstar co-star Bilal Ashraf, and the actress looked every bit of a diva in gold. Sadly enough, we missed seeing her on stage. We knew that she wasn’t going to perform but we did expect her to present an award or be a part of some mischief. It was slightly disappointing, taking into account her star persona which lights up the screen every time she makes an appearance.
 Extremely short performances
Barring Mehwish and Fahad’s final act, all the performances were too short and abrupt, including Atif Aslam’s. Though Atif came again to perform for legendary actress Shabnam we didn’t see any medleys. All the actresses danced on only one song and that left us longing for more.
Poor comedy
There were segments in the show that went straight over our heads! We weren’t able to understand their significance, let alone what brand of comedy it was. One in particular was Hina Dilpazeer and Yasir Hussain’s skit. Hina was clad in an outrageous colourful number and the two spoke about fashion designers. Till the very end, we weren’t able to decipher the intent of the act. What or who she was impersonating is anyone’s guess but it was a dig at the flamboyance of the fashion industry.
There was another spicy news segment with Saba Qamar and Yasir Hussain. Saba fumbled a lot while reading the script but a few jokes did crack up the audience. One in particular was about Wajahat Rauf’s latest film Chhalawa which was released on Eid ul Fitr and like a chhalawa was nowhere to be seen after Eid.
No new models?
We love Sadaf Kanwal and the model was looking breathtakingly beautiful in that neon green Sana Safinaz dress. We will root for her always but it was a tad bit awkward that no new faces won the best female model this year. And amongst strong contenders like Aimal Khan, Hasnaina Lehri and newcomer Champ Immi, Shehzad Noor’s third win was inexplicable. We are also not sure why Mehwish Hayat kept asking Sadaf to thank Fahad Mustafa after receiving the award. Care to share if you have any clue?
THE BIZARRE MOMENTS
Sarmad Khoosat represented the wrong film?
Remember the group of directors who spoke about last year’s best filmmakers? Well… the blunder of the night was that no one represented Haseeb Hassan for Parwaaz Hai Junoon, which was indeed in the Best Director nominations. However, Sarmad Khoosat spoke at length about Adnan Sarwar and his film Motorcycle Girl, who if one looks closely, wasn’t nominated in the said category. The confusion must be between Best Director and Best Film nominations, but this isn’t one that we can ignore!
The awkward sequence & wrong calls
We didn’t like the awkward sequence of the show as most of the performances where placed at the very end. The breaks were abrupt and it was taking too long to place props. There were comic acts in the middle, wrong announcements here and there. Atif Aslam was in the middle of these wrong calls twice. At one instance, Atif’s name was called to present an award and Momina and Azaan Sami Khan appeared on his behalf. Ali Safina gave it a twist by saying Syed Shafaat had called Atif, Afat Aslam, therefore he wasn’t coming. Later Momina was given the wrong envelop to announce the winner. Awkward much?
If this wasn’t enough, Atif was also absent when he won Best Playback Singer Film for Parwaaz Hai Junoon. Tina Sani and Yousaf Salahuddin had to come back and announce it again. Thankfully, Atif apologized.
Uzma Khan announced Feroze Khan’s win beforehand
Uzma Khan unintentionally announced Feroze Khan as the winner of Best Actor TV (Viewer’s Choice) when the nominations were not even played yet. Her co-presenter Ahmed Ali Butt took control of the situation and made fun that Feroze should pay her under the table and then exaggerated the final reveal so as to make it appear comical. Kudos Ahmed, but the ship had already sailed!
No good lookin’
Oddly enough, there wasn’t any announcement for best dressed celebrities at the end of the event and we were kind of looking forward to that.
One Comment