Too little, too late? Lux Style Awards upsets Bashar Momin again

Published August 12, 2015
Has Bashar Momin gotten its due? Not if you ask Faysal Qureshi — Publicity photo
Has Bashar Momin gotten its due? Not if you ask Faysal Qureshi — Publicity photo

It isn't award season until there's some hue and cry about the nominees (and non-nominees!) — and one of the biggest contentions this year was in the Lux Style Awards' TV category.

One of the most-talked-about TV series last year was Bashar Momin, and fans were distraught because actor Faysal Qureshi didn't make the cut in the Best TV actor category.

Also read: Lux Style Awards nominations are out!

Luckily for fans, the TV nominations were revised, keeping in mind that the LSA TV Rules state that 70% of a drama's episodes must run in the Awards year, that is, January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014, according to a press release. In this revised list, Faysal Qureshi finally made the cut.

While fans of Bashar Momin may have been appeased, the honoured new nominee is not. Faysal Qureshi has rejected his nomination.

"When the original list of nominees came out, we [the Bashar Momin team] were very shocked to see our name not present in any of the categories", Faysal Qureshi shared with Dawn.com, "Bashar Momin was a drama that everyone talked about, and I've seen many Bashar-inspired characters on TV since, so I was really surprised by the lack of recognition. I spoke out about the drama not being nominated, not just myself."

"A lot of fans were also quite upset and spoke out as well, and I got calls from the organisers who promised a revision," Faysal continued, "What they ended up doing was nominating me and no one else from Bashar Momin. After 22 years in the industry, I have no need for awards, but Bashar Momin had excellent cinematography, direction and script, which deserved recognition. There's no point in holding awards like this. If you've chosen to ignore a particular TV drama, then so be it. Move on."

He went on to stress on the need for a proper jury for award shows. "The jury should be made up of people who know dramas on the tips of their fingers, a mix of senior journalists and some neutral people like sportsmen, for example." The revised nominations list had quite a few surprises, not in the form of snubs but inaccuracies. In addition to Faysal Qureshi's inclusion in the Best Actor category, Ahson Khan has also been nominated for his work in New York Se New Karachi, a drama that didn't even star in. "Also, they've nominated two people from the same TV drama," Faysal added, referring to the Best Actor nomination of Hamza Ali Abbasi and Firdous Jamal for their performance in Pyaray Afzal, "This isn't the standard operating procedure of award shows anywhere in the world."

"We've always supported LSAs because it's the only real award show in Pakistan, which is why these recent events are so disappointing," he said conclusively.

The revised TV nominations, revealed in a press release yesterday, are as follows:

In the Best Satellite Play category, Geo Entertainment's Asmano Peh Likha joins the original five nominees. The revised nominees are:

  1. Asmano Peh Likha on Geo Entertainment
  2. Chup Raho on ARY Digital
  3. Main Bushra on ARY Digital
  4. Marasim on A plus
  5. Pyare Afzal on ARY Digital
  6. Shikwa on ARY Digital

In the Best TV Actor category, Noman Ijaz for Hum TV's Zindagi Teray Bina and Mikaal Zulfiqar for Hum TV's Mohabbat Subh Ka Sitara Hai have been removed from the nominees and replaced by Faysal Qureshi and Ahson Khan for Geo Entertainment's Bashar Momin and TvOne's New York sey New Karachi respectively. The revised nominees are:

  1. Ahson Khan for New York sey New Karachi
  2. Faisal Qureishi for Bashar Momin
  3. Firdous Jamal for Pyare Afzal
  4. Hamza Ali Abbasi for Pyare Afzal
  5. Jibran Syed for Chup Raho

The Best TV Actress nominees remain unchanged:

  1. Aiza Khan for Pyare Afzal
  2. Saba Hamid for Pyare Afzal
  3. Saba Qamar for Sannata
  4. Sajjal for Sannata
  5. Sanam Jung for Meray Humdum Meray Dost

In the Best TV Writer category, Sarmad Sehbai for Hum TV's Laa has been replaced by Zanjabeel Asim for A-Plus's Marasim. The revised nominees are:

  1. Khalil ur Reham for Pyare Afzal
  2. Saji Gul for Sannata
  3. Sameera Fazal for Chup Raho
  4. Sanam Mehdi for Main Bushra
  5. Zanjabeel Asim for Marasim

In the Best TV Director category, Sakina Samo for Hum TV's Mohabbat Subh Ka Sitaara Hai has been removed, leaving the rest of the five nominees to vie for the award:

  1. Kashif Nisaar for Sannata
  2. Mohsin Mirza for Asmano Pay Likha
  3. Nadeem Baig for Pyare Afzal
  4. Rubina Ashraf for Shikwa
  5. Yasir Nawaz for Shaq

The music nomination for Sadqay Tumharay in the Best OST category was withdrawn at the request of the producers.

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