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A black and gold affair
There’s something about award ceremonies no matter what part of the globe they are held in. Although the PTV 11th National Awards programme held last Saturday was no comparison to the Oscars, Golden Globe or the Grammys, a sense of awed excitement and security tighter than a policeman’s pants at the waist, made the night into the biggest and most mega event happening in the breezy city of lights, in recent times.
The venue selected for the evening was the choicest of the lot — the car park of the auspicious Bahria Auditorium where a couple of thousands of guests waited eagerly for the evening’s proceedings to get underway. And for once, PTV did not disappoint, more so because the ceremony was to be aired live. Off the mark by only an odd half-hour or so, the audience was treated to the suited-booted hotshot crooner from Lahore, Jawad Ahmed, who got the ceremony underway with his inspirational and resounding Allah Hu.
The hosts for the evening were Moin Akhtar, Anwar Maqsood and Bushra Ansari, and together their ready and lethal wit scored repeatedly with the audience. It was good to see that PTV had also done away with the garish sets of yore and replaced it with a better version in black and gold hues, coupled with movable objects. Glimpses of PTV MD, Yousuf Baig Mirza smiling throughout the ceremony, reflected his pride on a job well done, perhaps ignoring some of the technical and otherwise, glitches. The GM, KTV, was on his feet the whole evening overseeing the proceedings and too busy to enjoy the show.
For the average audience present at the venue and those watching the ceremony cozily nestled in their sofas at home with a bag of munchies, the performances on stage seemed nearly flawless. It was only backstage that tempers flared only to be doused by a colleague’s warm-hearted approach and the overbearing sense of flurry and scutter to put up a good show on stage. Seated right next to the stars’ box, one could hear their incessant chatter as they talked about flowing crimson silk sarees (yes, Sakina Samon, we heard it all); how a neighbour quit smoking (not that it matters to Qazi Wajid) and the declining state of Pakistani films (due apologies to Zeba Bakhtiar). Backstage jitters (who would have guessed Usman Peerzada still gets them) and straighten-my-suit-and-tie-and-I’ll-do-the-same-for-you (a la Abdullah Kadwani, Aijazz Aslam and Adnan Siddiqui) attitudes were galore. However, it was Humayun Saeed who stole the show, for the star had his mobile plastered to his ear chirpily talking into it for a good part of the evening. It’s amazing he didn’t have it on when he came on stage to give away the awards. Anyway, he was a good sport and posed for quite a few snaps with the security personnel comprising navy personnel totally bowled over by watching the stars so up, close and personal. Yasir Nawaz and prize catch, Nida Yasir, the handsomest couple on the showbiz block these days cut a stunning figure, too. Also spotted was Sakina Samoon as cool and composed and youthful as ever, making one wonder what her secret for eternal youth is and belying critics who say love and marriage wreak havoc on the self. Few artists seemed to have been invited that evening and many veteran ones were missing. Did PTV overlook them?
Speaking of show-stoppers, Shahida Mini looked absolutely stunning, resplendent in a white sari as she performed to Anokha Ladla. The lady certainly knows how to put on a show! She and Jawad were clearly the darlings of the evening, not to mention two rosy apples of PTV’s eyes as they were beckoned on stage more than once to perform — he to Oonche Majajan Wali and she to Tere Ishq Nachaya. As far as alleged disparity goes, there were complaining murmurs heard that most of the artists called on stage to give away the awards and most of the artists bestowed with awards were Karachi-based. But gossip being gossip is just that, and better left alone.
One couldn’t help but admire the composure which the public maintained at the ceremony. Whether it was due to the fact that the ceremony was being aired live or that security personnel were constantly patrolling the aisles will never be known. What with the governor, Mian Soomro, Information Minister Nisar Memon and media advisor, Lt. General Rashid Qureshi, amongst the guests, security was tight. On stage, Shazia Khushk’s lukewarm song and dance performance, followed by Arif Lohar went somewhat unnoticed, except for their equally shimmery outfits. The same, however, cannot be said for Anwar Maqsood’s catty comments on Pakistan beating Holland in cricket the same day, with Moin Akhtar in attendance.
Back from the abyss of self-exile, Strings did a killing on stage with a number from their latest album, Bilal, no doubt, doing Maqsood Sr. proud. But what followed was even better — Bushra’s impressive impersonation of a worldly beggar woman. The musical genius of Rahim Shah shone bright with O Bewafa, but many wondered about the woollen cap. Had he caught a cold or shaved his hair, or was it simply to give him a grunge look. Guess we’ll never know.
The PTV awards also provided a platform for many artists to effectively promote and announce their new albums. So, while Faakhir got away with the rehashed Ne Sub To Sohniye, Hadiqa followed suit with her Ranjhan from her latest album Rung, as also Shahida Mini. But what good is new if you forget the golden oldies? Runa Laila made a surprise entry and charmed and wooed the socks off the crowd with Mera Babu Chail Chabeela, a song which hasn’t lost its spark through the years. With remixes being the rave these days, its good to hear the original version now and then, no doubt. The Bo-Kata girl, Fariha Pervaiz and her Piya was listenable, which is a whole lot more than can be said for the likes of Humera Arshad and her ailing ditty Dilbar Dil Ke Saath Hai. A clear case of parchi, who knows? Shehzad Roy came and left with Mein Janoon Na, showing his lack of knowledge when it comes to knowing what his listeners want to hear.
Veteran Tina Sani is presently out of the country, but that was no reason why PTV could not honour the talented singer. It came up with the unique concept which is sure to catch on and as Urooj Chawla’s classical gyrations to Tina’s Bahar Aaye made many catch their breaths, it had an equally pleasing visual impact as well. A case of the old and the new, one might say.
Another touche was the honouring of PTV producer Syed Mohsin Ali and Farida Khanum with the Lifetime Achievement Award, something which both deserved without an iota of doubt. Specially since Mohsin Ali hasn’t been well lately. The man has undergone a drastic physical change after sprouting a beard, almost making him unrecognizable by well-wishers.
A brief discourse with some artists revealed that the awards were certainly unbiased, although they didn’t necessarily agree with the choice of performers. One artist said that the choice of songs were not all that good and that PTV could have done a lot better. The highlight of the show, according to him was the bombastic trio of Bushra Ansari, Anwar Maqsood and Moin Akhter. But why was the audience asked by Moin Akhter to give a standing ovation to Anwar Maqsood at the end of the show? And comperes don’t praise each other at such mega events. Still, the ceremony itself was nothing out of the ordinary, he added. Some people felt that most of the awards were distributed equally among the PTV centres to keep everyone happy and only a few were given on merit.
Bajiya, said that it should be enough for all that Karachi was able to host the ceremony after many years and everything had gone smoothly. Regarding the fairness or unfairness of the awards, she said that as artists, it was everyone’s right to get an award for his or her efforts. And that new talent needs all the encouragement it can get.
Rubina Ashraf, also a private producer, in a daze of vocal onslaught, said that PTV has done much, much better in the past and can still do better. She lauded the state-owned corporation for being brave enough to host an awards ceremony even though its own productions have trickled down to a mere two days a week. She also rightly pointed out that PTV is the biggest visual media organization in Pakistan and people expect a whole lot more from it.
Because of the fumblings on stage by the comperes many felt that the show, which was of such magnitude and would be seen around the world, was not properly rehearsed. The set also lacked finesse and the close-ups of the camera were not good with one portion of the audience not in view at all. Artists in the crowd were hardly focussed on. But even with all the glitches it was an enjoyable evening for most.
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