The Lux Style Awards (LSAs) need to be applauded and it’s not because their recent 15th year celebration wasn’t without its faults. In all sincerity, the evening had its highs and lows, its memorable moments and cringe-worthy instances, its many fans and a milieu of disgruntled attendees. Nevertheless, for all its flaws, it is no easy feat to complete 15 years in our tumultuous climes and this is something that the LSAs achieved this year.

It also cannot be easy to bring together masses of stars together for a single ceremony; to combat egos, date issues and multiple demands; to get them to dance, sing and somehow develop a sense of humour. It is a gargantuan effort by Frieha Altaf, the show’s producer, Fareshteh Aslam, the awards manager and Nabila, who handles the styling. One appreciates them for the way they have persistently taken the show forward all these years.

The show itself was entertaining but could have been better. In their 15th year, the annual LSAs had promised to pull out all the stops and deliver a star-studded glamorous evening. The stage was set, lit up with a thousand glitzy lights. The red carpet was just as resplendent with an unending flow of celebrity attendees, ranging from the young superstars – Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan, Hamza Ali Abbasi, Maya Ali and Urwa and Mawra Hocane among many others – to veterans such as Bushra Ansari, Atiqa Odho, Behroze Sabzwari and Javed Sheikh. They all came – designers, directors, models and musicians – in their designer best and not-so-best. The few who were suspiciously absent were nominees who eventually didn’t end up winning. Did they already know the results and thereby skipped out on the event? We can only guess!

In their 15th year, the LSAs promised to pull out all the stops and deliver a star-studded glamorous evening. They almost delivered.

Sadly, the celebrity attendees mostly didn’t come on time, stalking in well into the night, setting the red carpet into a flurry before ennui settled again, in anticipation of the next famous face to eventually walk in. The stage glittered in vain as the hours passed, only finally coming alive at an unfathomable 11pm. The invite was for 6pm.

It turned out to be a glittery evening that wore well into the morning with many of the guests leaving in the middle of the ceremony. In fact, when Javed Sheikh won the accolade for Best Supporting Actor for Film, he had already left the venue. Many of the award presenters also slunk away before time and it was evident that the organisers were fumbling backstage, deciding on whom to call as their original choices were no longer at the venue.

Inevitably, as last time, the grand finale was performed to a mostly empty auditorium. It was actress Mahira Khan’s onstage debut and she danced beautifully. Had the LSAs ended at a more decent hour, she would have had the crowd cheering. Even now, one can tell that her performance is going to generate high viewership ratings when the show gets televised.

In fact, if one disregards the abysmal timings, the LSAs this year had quite a few memorable moments that are going to keep TV audiences riveted. There were some electrifying performances, spurts of comedy and some unexpected award results.

If one disregards the abysmal timings, the LSAs this year had quite a few memorable moments that are going to keep TV audiences riveted. There were some electrifying performances, spurts of comedy and some unexpected award results. There were also the inevitable glitches, hitches and controversies.

There were also the inevitable glitches, hitches and controversies. Here are some of the highlights ... and the low points:

The host with the most

Ali Zafar stepped in as the ceremony’s host and there could have been no better choice. Ali is adroit at charming his audience and, besides, he looks great suited up. He also knows how to shake a leg and his opening act was certainly one of the high points of the night, where he danced like a star and good-naturedly poked fun at show business in that familiar well-loved baritone. Later in the night, he rapped on stage, joked about with Fawad Khan and Hamza Ali Abbasi and paid homage to Amjad Sabri.

It would have been even better if Ali hadn’t fumbled through half the award announcements, stating an awards category only to realise that the results were for another. Or announce a celebrity only to have another walk in. It’s obviously all going to get edited and tweaked for television but it did elicit snickers from the live audience.

Regardless, Ali Zafar was smooth, even when he was making blunders, and he hit the right notes simply because he has the rare knack of being able to make fun of himself – something that hosts in previous years, with their stilted commentaries and cocky demeanors, have sadly lacked.

Comedy done right … done wrong

Yasir Hussain is fast becoming our favourite part of the LSAs. He’s witty, intelligent, improvises like a pro and always has his audience in stitches. Last year at the LSAs, he held center stage with his comic skits and although his appearances this year were more limited, they were some of the best parts of the show.

Walking in after Ali’s opening act, both Yasir and Ali proceeded to walk amongst the celebrity audience and laughter ensued. “Yeh dekho, censor board Mathira ke saath baitha hua hai!” Yasir exclaimed when he saw the sultry Mathira sitting next to Fakhr-e-Alam who was, until recently, Chairman of the Sindh Censor Board. The best drama, declared Yasir, was “Humaima ka drama!” hinting at the actress’ famous starry tantrums. And when Ali admonished him to not be ‘badtameez’, Yasir quipped, ‘Badtameezi nahin karein ge toh pichli baar kee tarha flop ho jayein ge!’

Much later into the night, the jokes continued, “I recently went to India and I saw so many billboards of Fawad Khan, I thought he was running for election there!” he jibed. From Nomi Ansari’s hairline to Deepak Perwani’s selfie-face to Fawad Khan’s gender preferences in his Bollywood film Kapoor & Sons, Yasir was hilarious.

Surprisingly, the other funnyman onstage, Ahmed Ali Butt, wasn’t quite such a hit. There’s no denying Ahmed’s comedic talent but while he’s packed in the punches successfully at earlier shows, he seemed to be experiencing a burnout. The LSAs were the fourth show he was hosting this year. Even the most ingenious comic may have difficulty devising so many original humorous scripts.

There were times when Ahmed’s shtick worked. He declared that Lux actually prepares actors for India, “From Meera to Resham to Mahira and now Fawad!” At one point, he called Humayun Saeed on stage, gave him a bar of soap and asked him to enact the Lux ad with anyone in the audience. Predictably, the actor called upon good friend Vasay Chaudhry, leading to some funny moments. Having said this, the Humayun Saeed-Ahmed Butt-Vasay Chaudhry combination is getting a tad old now – we’ve seen the trio together far too many times before, in a movie as well at other award shows.

In another instance, Ahmed called Osman Khalid Butt and Maya Ali on stage, made them inhale helium from a balloon and sing in chirpy, chipmunk voices. The ‘Yablee Bublee’ script where he and Fawad Khan play effeminate stylists was a riot as was his repartee with Fawad.

Much more lacklustre were Ahmed’s conversations with actress Mawra Hocane who seemed to be trying too hard. Nor did it make sense to call actresses on stage, have them stand next to a curtain and unveil the ‘surprise’ to merely be the word ‘Lux’. And then there was the unfathomable jibe where Ahmed called two dwarves on to stage and proclaimed them to be the parents of Ayesha Khan’s nasty character Jeena in the TV drama Mann Mayal, leading to the now infamous LSA little person controversy.

The dwarf controversy

Even people who don’t watch Mann Mayal may be aware that the drama has Ayesha Khan playing the vamp who excuses her actions by saying that she doesn’t have parents. In response to this, Ahmed called upon two dwarves who declared that they were her ‘maa-baap’. “I wanted to give them the opportunity to come on to a platform as huge as the LSAs,” explains Ahmed. “They were there as actors and I wasn’t making fun of their size at all. The people who find the joke offensive are the ones who are actually judging them.”

But then why didn’t the dwarves have any punchlines to deliver if they were on stage for their acting prowess? “Sometimes hosts improvise in a show and that’s what Ahmed did here,” states Frieha Altaf in response to the controversy. “This was his call and we couldn’t do much about that.”

While he may have had good intentions, this was one joke that plummeted terribly. Ironically, it also managed to make the LSAs trend rampantly on social media, albeit for the wrong reasons.

The performances that rocked

Spaced out in between the comedy and the award results were some spectacular performances. The days are gone when yesteryear stars trundled languidly through dance moves. The LSA stage this year belonged to show business’ young, happening, dancing impresarios. If Ali Zafar’s opening act was entertaining, Sohai Ali Abro was electrifying, especially in her first performance. Why the organisers decided to make her perform again later is mystifying, though. A show with less performances is much better than one that is repetitive.

Mahira Khan smiled and twirled through a beautiful finale and the Udaari couple, Farhan Saeed and Urwa Hocane, moved well together.

Certainly, the most poignant segment was the ode to Amjad Sabri. Only last year, Sabri had mesmerised with his opening act at the LSAs. The sadness of his sudden demise was driven home by a heartfelt tribute sung by Ali Zafar and Ali Sethi. Joining them were Sabri’s family members and stars holding candles – except for Fawad Khan, who remained inexplicably seated.

Qandeel Baloch, no more

Had Qandeel Baloch been alive, she would have had certainly created some LSA memories. According to Frieha Altaf, the recently murdered social media siren was supposed to be part of the ceremony, set to come on stage in the beginning and be part of a comic skit with Ali Zafar. Given Qandeel’s penchant for pouting and posing, she would have enjoyed the limelight … and the LSAs celebrated platform may have spurred her career beyond social media towards mainstream stardom.

 “I spoke to her on the night she was murdered and she was very excited about it,” relates Frieha. “The LSAs could have generated more recognition and acting offers for her.” Unfortunately, this was not to be.

Instead, the LSAs took place a few weeks after Qandeel’s demise, amidst high security and bouncers roaming about. In a country where a woman gets throttled by her own brother allegedly in the name of honour, security at an event like the LSAs is always a concern.

And the award goes to …

Then there were the awards – sometimes surprising, often predictable and ultimately controversial. Noori won their first ever LSA for Best Album and the Television awards skittered from Diyar-i-Dil to Rang Laga and Sadqay Tumharay, with Hum TV bagging seven Luxies. Fouzia Aman won Best Female Model despite being pitted against heavyweights such as Rabia Butt and Amna Babar while Faraz Manan steamrolled over the tough competition in the Best Bridal and Lawn category, winning both accolades. Nabila won her 10th Luxie for Best Hair & Make-up Artist and announced that she would no longer participate in the nominations, opting to mentor new talent instead.

Most surprising, though, were the awards in the Film category where last year’s highly acclaimed Manto didn’t win at all. The blockbuster comedy Jawani Phir Nahi Ani (JPNA), expected to be a big winner, only walked off with accolades for Best Actor (Humayun Saeed) and Best Supporting Actress (Ayesha Khan). The coveted Film of the Year and Best Film Director awards were won by Moor and its director Jami.

The results led to a Twitter spat between JPNA’s Vasay Chaudhry and Jami with the usual insinuations of bias and unfair voting. Typical post-awards debates at play – but what would the LSAs be without them?

Despite the wounded egos that always put down the award results, the stars that throw tantrums, forget their scripts and delay the show by arriving late, however, the LSAs’ importance cannot be denied. For 15 years, it has been a platform that has spurred show-business forward and in the process, has helped create stars that are larger-than-life today. The performers that ultimately participate in the ceremony need to recognise and respect this, and treat it with the commitment and professionalism that it deserves.

And despite all odds, the LSAs trundled, fumbled but ultimately delivered magical moments and some unforgettable memories. While one hopes that the show gets better next year and that something is done about timings, the LSAs continue to exude star-power, glamour and an undeniable clout. For this, they deserve kudos.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, August 7th, 2016