STYLE: THE ‘STYLE AWARDS’ THAT LACKED STYLE
Are awards ceremonies exciting? Do they still create a buzz in the air? In an age where every aspect of a ceremony is immediately aired out on social media — from backstage videos to the red carpet to the event itself — are they still dazzling, exclusive affairs? Can song, dance, a smattering of stars in gowns and awards results be rustled together into a stellar show? Sometimes, yes — but not always.
Awards shows are now ubiquitous to the point that they need to have more in order to rivet. And shows dedicated to style particularly need to ooze style and glamour. The third Hum Style Awards (HSAs) tried — but didn’t always succeed in doing so.
It isn’t as if the HSAs particularly faced any tough competition from any of the many other awards ceremonies that sporadically surface year after year. Entertainment-based awards in Pakistan generally bumble along, replete with delays, hosts forgetting their scripts, actors falling while dancing, shoddy on-stage humour and even the occasional insensitive, offensive comment. Expert editing and plenty of reshooting of segments is usually required before a show actually manages to become glossy enough to be aired on TV. Able technicians are certainly going to have their hands full while sprucing up this year’s HSAs.
But will they manage to? No amount of editing can hide the fact that some of the country’s biggest stars were missing from the red carpet. Was it because many of them had already participated in the ‘other’ Hum awards — dedicated to recognising and applauding the Hum Network’s in-house annual projects — that had taken place little more than a month ago in Canada? The HSAs rustled up a fair bit of star power but it wasn’t quite enough. Where were so many of the country’s top actors, actresses and rock stars who usually happily flock to the red carpet hosted by a network that they work with so often?
The third annual Hum Style Awards took place this past weekend. Despite the hype, more is needed to make them a memorable experience
However, this is just a minor gripe. One would have easily ignored the absence of a large chunk of the country’s celebrities — or the fact that the show predictably started nearly two hours late — had the ceremony itself have had been entertaining. It wasn’t.
Those Hosts … And That Script!