You know you’re going to find exciting yet weird things at the biggest award show of the country. The Lux Style Awards brings a lot of celebrities under one roof, which means a lot of star power and a lot of egos. The 16th LSA was obviously no different and there were many instances where we were left saying WTF to ourselves. By WTF we mean two things by the way: Wow, That’s fantastic and What The Fudge. To make this simple, let’s start with the highlights first. Here’s the wow factor!
WOW, THAT’S FANTASTIC!
1. Reema stole the show
Reema performed alongside Mawra on a Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan song but we only had eyes for Reema during it. Reema is such a graceful and elegant performer that she looked perfect in stage. We really wish we could see Reema more often.
2. The ambience
The set up was absolutely incredible and we have Jalal Salahuddin to thank for it. There was a separate room for hi tea which was very beautifully decorated. We also saw all kinds of snacks around, such as bite sized banoffee pies, quiches, and finger food. The party then moved on to an extremely plush and lavish red carpet. This area was also designed significantly better than anything we’ve seen before. However, it was the gorgeous set up waiting for us at the main area that wowed us. The stage was lit up beautifully, keeping in mind a modern and futuristic aesthetic. Even the seats we sat on were comfortable and luxurious. Great job done!
3. Star power
The evening was as starry as it could have been and we saw all of Pakistan’s biggest stars together. Mahira Khan, Mawra Hocane, Ali Zafar, Atif Aslam, Sanam Saeed, Bilal Ashraf, Armeena Rana Khan, Ali Kazmi, Tooba Siddiqui and the list can go on for a while. Noman Ejaz also came after God knows how many years and he did say that he only came to support his best friend, Sheroo (HSY).
4. Abid Brohi is a true star
If you weren’t already in love with Abid Brohi because of the Sibbi Song then the LSA must have done it for you. The young rapper performed his songs during the LSA fashion presentation (he also accidentally missed Zoe Viccaji trying to high-five him but we can’t blame him, he looked like he was really in his own zone.) Abid was such a natural on stage that we can’t wait to see him perform again.
We loved Abid Brohi on stage! Even though his appearance was brief, he still showed us why he’s the next big thing.
WHAT THE FUDGE?
1. HSY as LSA host
It’s a big deal that HSY is now the show director for the coveted LSAs, and we were reminded of this fact throughout the course of the evening. He was mentioned at least 13 times during the show; he had two cameras on him that projected his image on to huge LCD screens; he would become the narrator in the middle and you would hear his voice booming across the hall; we also saw him in the testimonial video for Tariq Amin’s Lifetime Achievement Award. There appeared to be some confusion as to who the LSA host was: HSY, Unilever or Lux?
2. Performers who can’t dance
Mawra Hocane and Maya Ali may be the new Lux girls and they are extremely pretty while being good actors but that doesn’t mean they know how to dance well enough or have stage presence. These young stars looked like the proverbial “confident cousins” at every mehndi. They don’t know how to dance but are ready to put on a show and all the khalas and phuphos say “beta zarra dance toh karke dekhao” and they’ll readily do it. And it was so unfair to pair Mawra with Reema because as we mentioned earlier, Reema stole the show.
Mawra Hocane looked pretty as a picture but she can’t dance.
3. Atif Aslam’s hosting abilities
We’re huge fans of Atif Aslam and we love his effortless swag. But give him a mic and ask him to act and you lose Atif’s charm. We were all really nervous about his hosting abilities and then our nerves got the better of us when we actually saw him take stage. Why couldn’t Atif just do the opening and closing performances? He’s such a talented performer but his hosting gig was so awkward, he was stuttering and eating up his words all night.
4. What were Mooroo, SomeWhatSuper and Aima Beg doing on stage?
Mooroo is such a credible artist that he produced an entire album with original songs and then got an LSA nomination for it too. Yet on stage, he appeared for literally half a minute to sing Atif Aslam’s song in the background. Really? In which world is it okay for one artist to sing another artist’s song? Didn’t Mooroo have even one worthy song in his LSA nominated album which he could perform on stage? And such was the case with the other musicians too. Aima Beg won the LSA for ‘Kalabaz Dil’, SomeWhatSuper made the biggest musical hit last year which will most definitely win for ‘The Sibbi Song’ next year. Yet, they were all reduced to an appearance that lasted a few seconds and they were all made to sing/dance to Atif Aslam’s songs. Not cool.
Mooroo deserved a longer segment at the LSAs, preferably one in which he could sing his own brilliant songs.
