LAHORE: It was a breezy evening at Alhamra Cultural Complex’s Open Air Theatre where singers and dancers paid rich tributes to the late Khawaja Pervez by singing and performing his film songs on Wednesday.

The stage was decorated with life-size portraits of Khawaja Pervez, a Pakistani film lyricist. Disco lights and ornamentations created a dreamy ambiance. Many leading names from the film industry like film director Syed Noor, classical dancer Zarin Pana, film director Shehzad Rafique, music composer Wazir Afzal, singer Tariq Tafu and Irfan Khusat graced the occasion.

Syed Noor, while speaking on the occasion, demanded that the Punjab government give Khawaja Pervez Pride of Performance which was not given to him in his lifetime. “Those who sung his songs and those who composed have been given the award but the actual creative artiste was not considered for it,” he regretted.

He said Hamza Shahbaz had announced that a food street would be named after Khawaja Pervez but this pledge remained unfulfilled.

Wazir Afzal also held Pervez in high esteem, saying “Khawaja Sahib was a legend many of whose songs were copied across the border.”

There was a string of performances by singers and dancers in a show organised by the Shakir Ali Museum of the Pakistan National Council of Arts to pay a tribute to the lyricist who wrote some 15,000 songs in his film career.

Ali Raza mesmerised the audience by singing some of the immortal songs penned by Khawaja Pervez such as Dil-i-Wiran hai and Jab koie piyar say bulaye ga…