The 16th annual Lux Style Awards air on GEO TV at precisely 7pm tonight and we’re already excited. We did see the show live but these kinds of programs, planned for a television audience, usually take a larger life of their own on screen. And there’s so much to look forward to other than the fact that this is the longest standing independent award show in the country and the LSAs are not managed like a TV channel sorority, where everyone promotes and votes for their own drama serials and films. These are across the board and play fair. That said they are also not without their own fair share of controversy and scandal, but then what would an awards show be without some form of noisy dispute? Against all five nominees in each category are dozens of artistes who didn’t make the cut and amidst all five nominees there is one winner and four losers. And human nature dictates that losers are more often ‘sore’ than magnanimous. So, scandal is inevitable and we love it, because what would an awards show be without a fair share of spice?
Here are our top spots from the event this year…
Atif Aslam’s National Anthem opening
You don’t want to miss the country’s biggest contemporary crooner belting out the National Anthem right at the beginning of the show. It’s a goose bump moment, which you may or may not get watching at home, but we certainly did get when it happened live. Atif hosted the evening this year, a decision that’ll definitely get the ratings up, but let us warn you that Atif hosting may not be the best thing you’ll see. We personally feel that he’s incomparable when singing but falls a little into zone-awkward when attempting humour. Or maybe that was just the script, also awkward at times. We would like your verdict on this.
Reema’s dance-off with Mawra Hocane
Okay, so in all fairness it wasn’t really a dance off. The two of them perform together to a Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan classic and while Reema looks like a swan in motion, Mawra looks like an adorable cousin at a mehndi. But this performance is not to be missed as it highlights the contrast between two divas from different time zones. Reema, in HSY, was elegant and retained the mystique of an old-school diva who you saw and read about but always wondered what lay under the surface. Mawra, (wearing Ali Xeeshan) with her 2 million Instagram followers and a full blown social media presence, is a 21st century star whose life is almost like an open book.
Mahira Khan raps
Mahira Khan will be defined in history in a pre and post Raees era because I feel she’s a completely different person post-Shahrukh Khan. Her body language has turned over for a 180-degree flip and she’s more confident and, for the lack of a better word, sexier. It took her several years to live down her character as Khirad in Humsafar and while we loved watching Mahira and Fawad together, we can’t deny the repressiveness of the story line. We’d rather see Mahira as a ‘Zaalima’ than a pyaari bahu-beti and her LSA avatar as badass rapper just nailed it for us.
Ali Zafar’s Ishq with Maya Ali
Talking about pyaari bahu-betis, everyone loves Maya Ali and we love Ali Zafar, which makes this performance a must-watch too. Ali wrote this segment overnight and it’s a stroke of genius as it is a departure from his charming host persona we saw at the awards last year. Ali and Maya play tragic lovers and look good together, he the sword yielding warrior and she the pining heroine. We know how well Maya does ‘pining’! This performance is also a prelude to what to expect in Teefa in Trouble and dare we say that chemistry on hai!
‑Bonus: The Lux Style Awards 2017 were directed by Hassan Sheheryar Yasin, with script by Osman Khalid Butt so if you’re a fan then we just gave you another reason why you mustn’t miss his opening act! And if you are a fan of Mera Sultan Turkish star Halit Ergenç, who we spent the better half of the last decade obsessing over, then you don’t want to miss his presence at the show and his speech, celebrating Turkey’s relationship with Pakistan.
You don’t want to miss the country’s biggest contemporary crooner belting out the National Anthem right at the beginning of the show. It’s a goose bump moment, which you may or may not get watching at home, but we certainly did get when it happened live.
This article was originally published in Instep, May 20, 2017.
