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Candid camera
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the Lux Style Awards have been done to death. It seems that the media has had nothing better to write about ever since it was rudely locked out. By now, people probably have it coming out of their ears! One feels the entire world-war-scenario came as a godsend for the organizers and gave them a legitimate excuse to keep out the unwanted list of dignitaries, bureaucrats and pesky media persons. What better way than to record and edit the entire evening and present it on TV, picture perfect, to the millions to appreciate?
But nothing is ever picture perfect. Though the evening was very well organized and went smoother than last year, there were glitches that aren’t going to survive the editors’ shears. What a pity because in all good faith and certainly no malice intended, they did bring on a good laugh! So here they are, scenes straight from the ceremony.
The opening act was a dervish dance, which ended in a splendid release of pigeons. Since war had just started in Iraq, one wondered whether they were peace doves. It was later revealed that they were not. Nevertheless, it was a sight. The pigeons, which had probably been rehearsing as much as the dancers, found various safe spots on stage and settled in. Sources revealed that even stray birds flocked in and they ended up with more birds than intended. So perhaps it was forgivable when Reema, beautiful as ever, tripped over one and actually killed it!
Come to think of it, the movie stars were all on shaky footing. After Reema’s trip, Babra Sharif, who never ceases to amaze people with her endless youth, almost slipped and lost a shoe, which went flying. And what a shoe it was to lose: big, black and high platformed. It must have weighed 10 per cent of Babra’s total body weight and measured up to 10 per cent of her total height. Then there was Meera. Her sheer train of a pallu got caught for a good minute or two when stepping in as presenter before she too tripped and perhaps even hit her nose on the microphone. It was all too much!
When the category for Most Stylish Sportsman was being announced, we wondered where they all were. Revealed by most confidential sources, here’s what happened: Shahid Afridi, after refusing to talk to a male organizer, then finding ample time to chit chat when a girl rang up, bluntly declined the invitation by saying he was just too busy but they were welcome to invite his mother. Waqar Yunous was a little more honest and stated he couldn’t face the public yet. On the other hand Wasim Akram, who won, said that his team had really disappointed him and he was underground these days. Well, their hesitation in facing the public was understandable.
The category for Most Promising Emerging Talent went through a lot of criticism. The nominations were like comparing apples and oranges. Instead of juxtaposing totally different talents, they should have been divided between art, fashion and music. The contest was basically between hot favourites Fuzon and Noori. Had Noori won, there would’ve been great embarrassment because the organizers actually forgot to invite them!
It goes without saying that in selecting categories for the event, certain beats have been extremely neglected: Best Music Video, Most Stylish Singer/ Musician, a division between Best Print Model and Best Live Model, etc etc. It’s unanimous that Aminah Haq, who bagged the award for Best Female Model this year, is the most beautiful, photogenic face around. But when it comes to catwalks, there’s no denying the fact that Vinnie has a presence second to none. It’s comic that the young helpers and ushers who had been recruited from various institutions were in great shock after being in close proximity with all the models and actresses, sans their usual war paint. Quite a disillusion for them all!
Back to the programme, the evening was made most enjoyable by the versatile Moin Akhtar. Disguised as Mickey D, a prototype fashion designer, he suggested that all designers are rip-off artists and perhaps, all effeminate, if not gay! A point not taken too well, one is sure. As the famous Miss Rosy, he hinted at the US-Iraq war, which, by the way, was oddly the only mention all evening.
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