Ali Zafar has fantastic energy and it showed as he opened proceedings with a tongue-in-cheek song he especially wrote for the 15th anniversary of the LSAs. Throughout the evening, Ali was on his charming best & added a lot of positivity to the show.
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Ali Zafar and Mahira Khan made spectacular debuts as host and performer respectively while an energetic and entertaining show made up for frequent dips in voltage.
Karachi :The 15th edition of the annual Lux Style Awards, a celebration of culture in all its glory took place at the Expo Centre in Karachi on Friday night and gave those who attended and managed to stay despite the late hour a night to remember and plenty to talk about.
The LSAs, often credited with being the only unbiased platform in the country, continue to acknowledge artists based on merit and perhaps that remains their single greatest strength; this year was no different. But there were numerous high and higher moments that just proved how far the industry has come from where the Lux Style Awards started in 2002.
Farhan Saeed & Urwa Hocane put up a decent performance on a medley of songs. They share fabulous chemistry not just offstage but also on it which added to their collective showing.
“The Lux Style Awards is a reaffirmation of our belief in the outstanding talent we have in Pakistan,” Shazia Syed, Chairperson Unilever spoke in a very warm and sincere speech. It reassured one that the platform – often under financial and security restraints over the years – is here to stay and grow despite adversity. “Over the last fifteen years, the LSAs have been the premier and unbiased platform showcasing the abilities of our budding local talent for the world to see in the fields of film, music, fashion and glamour.”
Former EP bandmates, Fawad Khan and Ahmed Ali Butt share a fantastic rapport. They recorded a special segment and caused a laugh riot like no other.
The glamour quotient, one has to say, was a little low as the insufficiently cool red carpet (handling the heat is a challenge in July) was somewhat lackluster. One spotted stars of the moment Ali Zafar, Mahira Khan, Fahad Mustafa, Fawad Khan, Hamza Ali Abbasi, Mawra Hocane, Farhan Saeed and Urwa Hocane who walked hand in hand, as well as singers Ali Noor, Ali Hamza and Zeb Bangash amongst others but their arrivals were so spaced out that there were very few wow moments to be seen. While selfie mania reigned supreme on the red carpet, very few stars managed to make a memorable statement.
Thankfully this year’s strength and significance continued beyond the lack of enough fashion oomph, lack of adequate cooling or the insufferable delays that pushed the show into wee hours of the next morning. This year was special as it marked the 15th Anniversary of the LSAs, it roped in Ali Zafar as host for the first time, managed to convince Mahira Khan to make her stage debut in a spectacular performance. One saw a surprisingly agile Sohai Ali Aabro show her moves and then we saw Pakistan’s best humourists – Vasay Chaudhry, Ahmed Ali Butt and Yasir Hussain spin their magic. A special tribute for renowned qawwal, the late Amjad Sabri was poignant and sensitive. It took us back to last year, when Sabri opened the show with his spectacular performance. The industry’s top stars gathered on stage, accompanied by Sabri’s family, to pay him tribute. It was odd to see Fawad Khan seated in the front row and not up on stage with the rest of the industry, though.
Moving on, one cannot go on without saying that Ali Zafar stole the show with his remarkable opening act that set the mood for the night. This was followed by his quick, witty, interactive session with the celebs in the front row where perennial funny man Yasir Hussain accompanied him. The two had the audience in splits.
There was much more celebration. Real life couple Urwa Hocane and Farhan Saeed performed on a segment dedicated to film music in which music from Manto was brought back to life. Sohai Ali Abro did several acts and while her rendition of ‘Eva’ from Moor failed to impress, her footwork in the Fawad Khan segment was mighty impressive. She’s one dancer to look out for! That said, the LSAs broke their tradition of sticking to an all-Pakistani entertainment package when they drew in songs from Fawad Khan’s hit Bollywood films. It would have made sense had Fawad danced with Sohai but otherwise it was completely unnecessary.
Fawad Khan made a late but extremely anticipated entry. He turned out to be an awkward host last year but this program redeemed him completely with self-deprecating humour and gracious speeches. His little comic segment with Ahmed Ali Butt was hilarious. There should have been more input from him – as he is the current Lux man – but who knows what goes behind corporate curtains and contracts.
Lux lady of the moment, Mahira Khan, however was radiant and gorgeous. Her finale performance helped feed high voltage energy back into an audience that was exhausted at an estimated 3:00 am. She performed on her hit songs from Bin Roye in which she also pulled co-star Humayun Saeed on stage. Mahira performed ‘Balle Balle’ with Mohsin Abbas Haider and finally, when everyone thought the show was over, she reappeared with her Ho Mann Jahaan costar Sheheryar Munawwar Siddiqui.
A mixed bag of awards
The awards themselves were an equal measure of expected and then some unpredictable. Some awards in fashion and film categories, in particular, were surprising but we’ll discuss those in detail later. Almost all the nominees including actors Ayesha Khan, Maya Ali, Osman Khaild Butt, Noor Hassan Rizvi, models Sadaf Kanwal, Amna Babar, Jahan-e-Khalid among others made an appearance at the event. Those who were expected to turn up but were a no-show included actors Ahsan Khan and Aamina Sheikh.
The event was not without a fair share of flaws – the time delays and lapses, a faulty sound system, lack of adequate cooking, mismanaged nominee announcements, etc. pointed at insufficient planning. That said the event was much bigger than its flaws. We hope things only get better with time and the LSAs reach a level of perfection that can be compared to any international awards show in the world.
The late Amjad Sabri was honoured with a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award and a special tribute in the form of a song that featured the likes of Ali Zafar, Ali Sethi and QB. As the Sabri family was invited onstage, other industry stalwarts also joined in.