Making up for the utter fiasco that PISA 2020 was last year, this year’s show kicked off with renewed energy and commitment to redeem ghosts of the past show. It was with some trepidation that we followed the second edition of the PISA last week but to be fair, the whole affair looked great from start to finish.

The show was hosted by Vasay Chaudhry and Yasir Hussain, who had the crowd in fits with their jokes. There was a lot of crowd interaction, which always goes down well. We saw several artists step in to co-host every now and then and they all kept the humour and energy high. The performances were few but well planned and included a National Anthem recital by Asim Azhar, a medley by Sheheryar Munawer and Mehwish Hayat (who commands the stage), a contemporary take on kathak by Faryal Mehmood (to Abdullah Siddiqui’s Magenta Cyan) and a fun version of Nur Jehan’s hit song from Amar Khan. Ali Azmat and Sajjad Ali both lip synced to their classics while Umair Jaswal introduced three terrific new songs. We also saw four rising stars perform to a new version of ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’.

Here are some moments we loved, and some we think could be improved upon.

Tapping into a whole lot of Pakistan-love

Given that the T-20 tournament (our team was knocked out at Semi-Final stage but we love the boys in green all the same) and the Pakistan Pavilion at Expo 2020 already had everyone’s patriotism at a high, the show opening with a rendition of the National Anthem recited by Asim Azhar was a definite moment. Later came a youthful cover of Vital Sign hit, ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ performed by Aashir Wajahat, Mustafa Khan, Urooj Fatima and Hadia Hashmi, that went down very well with the already hyped-up crowd.

Sajjad Ali commanding
a crowd

You’d assume that a bunch of celebs would not be moved by a mostly -‘90s star performing live. You would be wrong. Sajjad Ali sang a medley of some of his most popular songs and basically had the audience wrapped around his finger. The audience, a lot of which was made up of actors, musicians and other miscellaneous film, TV and fashion industry folk, could not help but get up and dance to the tune of Sajjad Ali’s songs.

Ali Azmat: not really commanding a crowd

One would think that at this point in his career, Ali Azmat could deliver the most riveting performance in his sleep. Unfortunately, the only thing he lit up on the PISA stage was the fact that he wanted to be anywhere but there. We know you can do better, Ali. We’ve seen it. Can we please have you restored to your natural-performer self soon, please?

Umair Jaswal’s new
singles and crazy energy

We thought Umair Jaswal would perform to his 2020 hit song, ‘Gagar’, but instead of covering a cover he came up with three original songs, all of which had the audience clapping to the beat. One of these songs was dedicated to his lovely wife, Sana Javed, whom he serenaded and even stepped off the stage to shake a leg with.

Sonya Hussyn’s
emotional moment

Sonya Hussyn recently expressed her displeasure at not being nominated at the Lux Style Awards and for a decent career that has largely remained unacknowledged, at least as far as awards go. At PISA she was nominated for her performance in drama serial Saraab, in which she plays a girl suffering from schizophrenia. To receive her very first award would have to be a huge moment, and Sonya’s emotional tears on stage are well-recorded proof of that. She dedicated the award to her mother, who suffers from mental health issues.

The lack of preparedness

Guys, if you’re at an awards ceremony as a nominee, there is a great chance you might win. Come prepped with a speech, please. Say something real, something that means something to you, or even a joke that you know will endear you to your audience. Fumbling through an awkward acceptance isn’t cute or quirky, it’s anticlimactic. You’re performers; an acceptance speech is the best kind of performance. So, you know, perform, please. And don’t pull a fellow nominee who’s lost up on stage with you!

All the camaraderie

From the awesome photos and stories up on Insta as people kept arriving for the event, we guessed that everyone present was having the best time ever. This is the energy we hope to see across industries and fraternities, because that’s when the best ideas come together and the best collaborations happen, allowing for the best kind of growth.

Some great fashion

All you have to do is skip to our style section and see some of our top picks from the red carpet, but we are happy to report that most celebs brought their A-game, fashion-wise, to PISA 2021. There were fewer ill-fitting gowns, and more gorgeously draped styles. Brava, ladies!

That eyesore of a
backdrop, though

We get that award shows, especially award shows held abroad, need funds and thus sponsors to happen, but can we not have all the sponsors flaunted on the red carpet backdrop? A messy backdrop just makes everyone look, well, messy. No outfit can look good when positioned in front of a mosaic of brands and if a red carpet can’t help the stars shine their brightest, then what’s its purpose?

– Photo courtesy: Catwalk PR