The stars descended on Karachi last week at the 2nd Hum Telefilm Awards held at the PAF Museum. Well-attended by dignitaries the awards this year got a fresher look with a younger set of actors such as Mohib Mirza, Fahad Mustufa and Anoshay as hosts of the event. The trio was witty and added the humour and glamour quotient to the proceedings.

With a montage of 10 nominated films, Zubair and Asad Malik received the trophies for Best Editor and Cinematographer in the technical awards category for Gullu Ustad, followed by debutant Mannan Azhar winning in the Best Newcomer category for Yeh Jugnu Hamaray.

Most celebrities arrived at the venue in pairs: Aisha Khan with Humayun Saeed, Deepak Perwani and Nadia Hussain, Faisal Qureshi and Mahnoor Baloch, and Iman Ali with Waseem Akram.

It was refreshing to see Javed Shekih, Nadeem, Bushra Ansari, Badar Khalil, Shakeel, Saud and his wife Javeria, Mehtab A. Rashdi, Mina Hasan and hubby Hasan Sardar, Khusbakht Shujaat and others augment the glamour quotient of the awards ceremony. Nevertheless, Shaan and Moammar Rana were sorely missed. Iman Ali seemed visibly upset when she was asked to stay on the stage a little while longer after her co-presenter Waseem Akram had already made his exit. Fahad and Mohib dealt with the situation tactfully.

There were scintillating performances comprising racy songs and scorching item numbers such as Sheela Ki Jawani and Munni Badnam Hui. While Komal Rizvi and Noor wowed the audiences with their moves, film sirens Laila and Mona Lisa rocked with their medleys. However, Hum TV didn’t go overboard with the bold and the sexy and kept things subtle to retain the family screening rating. The highlight of the evening was the high-voltage rocking performance by Meera on Billo Rani.

Back to the awards and Asma Abbas and Sohaib Khalid won the Best Supporting Actor (male & female) for Silvat and Daag Hai Mere Naam Pe, respectively. Bi Gul and Sakina Samoon received Best Writer and Best Director for Kaun Qamar Ara and last but not least Rashid Farooqui and Farah Tufail were declared Best Actor (male and female) for Gullu Ustad and Tehreem, respectively.

Roohi Bano arrived on the stage amidst standing ovation and against a backdrop of a montage of some of her outstanding work to receive her Special Award.

Declaring her “an institute of acting, a powerhouse of talent and aura, and a symbol of excellence”, Reema showered her with praises on behalf of all those present.

The panel of judges comprised Rubina Ashraf, Khalid Ahmed, Mehreen Jabbar and Asif Noorani; and according to Sultana Siddiqui, “We have been able to organise such a show because of their (judges) impartiality and judgments made on merit.”

The credit for putting on a flawless show goes to executive producer Maimona Siddiqui.

The remaining awards presented were:

The Bronze Telefilm Award Shamoon Abbasi for Daag Mere Naam Pe The Silver Telefilm Award Faiza Hasan for Kaun Qamar Ara Golden Telefilm Award Irfan Khoosat for Tehreem Popular Actor (Female) Noor Popular Actor (Male) Adnan Jillani Special Awards (Producers) Mukhtar Ahmed, Mehroz Karim, Humayun Saeed and Mahnoor.