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A truly global affair
With Pakistan Television finally going global, desi viewers in the US can now enjoy national television programmes to make them feel closer to home. And to celebrate the arrival of PTV in the US, a special launch gala was held at PTV’s Islamabad centre with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz as the chief guest and MD PTV Arshad Khan as the main host. The services of one of PTV’s most dynamic creative personnel, Khawaja Najamul Hasan, was called upon to give the proceedings a touch of glamour and class and the impressive set was designed by Adnan Ansari.
Divided into a number of segments including tableau, mehndi, bridal fashion, a tribute to Pakistani cinema, latino-kathak (fusion) dance and the vocal dexterity of Humera Arshad, Fuzon and Jawwad Ahmed, the show went down so well that it was relayed again at night and two more times during the next day.
Islamabad-based choreographer and event planner, Rezz Aly Shah, was called upon to handle the fashion segments and what ensued was a smooth unfolding of the show. When it came to finding a designer for the various segments including fashion, the obvious choice was Amna Malik who has made a mark on the fashion canvas within her span of six years. She along with a team of two assistants came up with bridal and other ensembles that became the life and soul of the launch.
The most colourful segment was a tribute to the historic golden era of Pakistani cinema, with Sadaf Sheikh emoting as Shabnam in the famous Noor Jehan ditty ‘Chitthi zara saiyan ji kay’. Shamil Khan played the role of late Rehman riding a bicycle while Ahsan Khan portrayed the legendary Waheed Murad in the famous song, ‘Ko ko Korina’
Things opened up with an elaborate mehndi scene while Sheen and Sania mesmerized the onlookers with their perky pirouetting, accompanied by a troupe of dancers who rendered support to the girls while capturing the upbeat tempo. Adding to the zest was an entry by models Rizwan Haider acting as the groom and Sofia Khan as the bride who were escorted centre stage by Sofia Ahmed, Annie, Mehak, Mahnoor, Daniyal and Sohail Sameer.The most colourful segment was a tribute to the historic golden era of Pakistani cinema, with Sadaf Sheikh emoting as Shabnam in the famous Noor Jehan ditty Chitthi zara saiyan ji kay. Shamil Khan played the role of late Rehman riding a bicycle while Ahsan Khan portrayed the legendary Waheed Murad in the famous song, Ko ko Korina. Zeba Ali as Noor Jehan delivered the lilting Chunn chunn naachon gi through her facial expressions and body language but failed to convince, while Saud as the late Mohammad Ali went blandly through the motions. Model Rabia portraying Zeba also lacked expression but Saima Qureshi as Babra Sharif and the handsome Babrik Shah as Nadeem made up for these performances. Delivering a show-stopping presentation, Saima Qureshi, who is a spitting image of her mother and yester-year screen sensation, Rozina, danced to the upbeat rhythm of Mundya dupatta chadd mera, undoubtedly doing choreographer Khanoo Samrat proud.
Fuzon’s riveting performance was well-received by the audience, followed by the dancing duo of Nighat Chaudhry and Juni Butt, who performed an energetic number, charging the air up for the bridal segment. With Rahat Fateh Ali Khan singing in his unmistakable voice, the brides alighted the stage in Amna’s bridal ensembles along with the grooms. Among the models were Daniyal, Rizwan, Sohail, Sofia, Annie, Tamar Yousaf, Sadaf, Rabia, Mehak, Sofia Khan and Mahnoor. Following up were song performances by Humera Arshad and a particularly strong delivery by Jawad Ahmed of Dosti, conveying the message of peace and friendship from Pakistan and for audiences across the seven seas.
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