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PTV hosts its regional awards
Showbiz awards are not what they used to be. There was a time when coveted trophies awarded to certain individuals for their particular performances in a film or TV serial was the ultimate achievement. But in recent times the arrogant behaviour of the winners has begun to irk most, who sometimes don’t bother to turn up at the awards — Nigar Awards being the latest example.
Recently, PTV Lahore held its regional awards show which was a commendable effort to encourage local artists and technicians, but like most such shows, this ceremony also had many faux pas.
The ceremony, started an hour late and among the 700 guests seated in the Noor Jehan Hall, hardly 20 were known artists. The set was unusual, and attractive and came to life with the traditional dhol walas playing the tune of Jawad Ahmad’s hit song, Uchien majajan wali. Of the four pairs of comperes who anchored the show, Urooj Nasir impressed the most and captured the audience with her melodious voice and vocal power. The script was written by M Shareef, and the less said about it the better. All the lines lacked depth and, hence were unable to offer much to the audience.
The best thing about the ceremony was the absence of the routine VIPs. There were no ministers or high ranking government officials occupying the front rows, which was a relief for the organizers. The commendable part was that all the awards were distributed by senior artists. Amongst the winners, Fareha Jabeen received the best actress award for the second time, consecutively. Dr. Shahid was declared best artist for his performance in the drama series Aaj di kahani. Veteran, Masood Akhtar and Beenish were declared best supporting actor and actress respectively. Shaheen Jameel received the award for best script writer whereas Shafqat Tanveer Mirza was declared best independent writer. Aslam Qurreshi and Sharafat Naqvi won the awards for best producer of serial and series respectively. Taranum Naz and Arif Lohar won the awards for best vocals while Salim Haider won the award for the best composer.
One can reserve opinions about the authenticity of the judgments made by the jury, but the entertaining segment of the ceremony was very impressive. Especially Saira Naseem, Akram Rahi, Jutt Brothers, Adeel Burkey and Shahida Mini performed well and received acclaim. A horse dance on Saira Naseem’s song was a novel idea and of great interest to the audience, though the singer’s nervousness was all too obvious during the performance. The songs were choreographed by Pappu Samrat. Humera Arshad presented a re-done version of Nusrat Fateh Ali’s qawwali. Though sung well, originality is what is required from the lady who sings mostly other singers ditties. Lots of other artists also performed during the show which included Nasibo Lal, Humera Channa, Arif Lohar, Nazakat Ali, Mustana Parwana and others. Veteran comedian Khalid Abbas Dar performed a one-man comedy skit and received tremendous applause for his act.
The last, but not least, feature of the show was the ex-tempo performances of legendary singers like Reshma, Farida Khanum, Suraiyya Multanikar and Atta ullah Eesa Khelvi. The best performance was by Reshma who sang her famous song, Bari lumbi judai, which she also sang for famous Indian director, Subhash Gai’s hit flick in the 80s, Hero. So quiet was the audience, that one would have heard a needle fall during the silence during Reshma’s rendition. Farida Khanum mesmerized the audience with her popular ghazal, Woh aishq jo hum say roth gaya. Will our singers be able to achieve this in later years?
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