KARACHI: There was little to celebrate or even smile about but plenty to frown at and shake one’s head in sheer frustration at the 3rd Kashmir Hum Style Awards 2018 held at the Expo Centre on Saturday night.

For one, the lack-lustre script delivered (read: read) by the hosts Ahmed Ali Akbar, Asim Azhar, Syra Shahroz and Ainy Jaffri Rehman left way too much to be desired as the evening progressed, and failed on various counts to engage the audience who found it extremely hard to stifle yawns throughout the ceremony. A few under-rehearsed acts and technical glitches also led to awkward moments on stage and overall contributed to a ceremony that refused to take off from the get-go and one that was repeatedly likened to a ‘damp squid’.

Some headline acts such as that of Feroze Khan (of Khaani fame) performed to an Indian ‘filmi’ dance tracks much to the chagrin and disappointment of those present, the argument being that with so much Pakistani music available, why the need to infuse Indian content? Furthermore, long-drawn out acceptance speeches thanking everyone from industry professionals (PR exercise, we get it) to individual family members (emotional moment) and even the kitchen sink only prolonged the audiences’ agony.

Finally, those who won in the HSA trophy in various categories are: Anam Malik (Best Female Model), Aimal Khan (Best Male Model), Qasim Liaquat (Best Hair & Make-up Artist), MHM Photography (Best Photographer), model Fahmeen Ansari & stylist Yasser Abdul Aziz (Rising Stars), Khaadi (Retail Brand of the Year-Apparel), Elan (Designer of the Year-Lawn), Zara Shahjahan (Designer of the Year-Pret), Zaheer Abbas (Designer of the Year-Demi Couture), Republic by Omar Farooq (Designer of the Year-Menswear), Sania Maskatiya (Designer of the Year-Bridal), Ayesha Omar (Most Stylish TV Host), Hadiqa Kiyani (Most Stylish Female Performer), Umair Jaswal (Most Stylish Male Performer), Mohammed Amir (Most Stylish Sports Personality), Adnan Siddiqui (Most Stylish TV Actor), Iqra Aziz (Most Stylish TV Actress), Hania Amir (Most Stylish Film Actress), Ali Rehman Khan (Most Stylish Film Actor) and Mahira Khan (Style Icon).

By the time the finale was performed by Farhan Saeed and Iqra Aziz which was well past the midnight hour, very few guests remained in the audience.

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2018