Lux Style Awards, a show that started back in 2002 in celebration of "style", has transformed over the years into a platform acknowledging artists and talent from across Pakistan. But this branching out seems to have done more damage to its reputation than good. Recent years have seen the platform issuing statements in response to accusations ranging from “glorifying alleged abusers” to “celebrating alleged harassers”.
“All shortlisted nominations for the Viewer’s Choice Category of the LSA 2022 are a result of exclusive viewer voting without any intervention by the Awards,” Lux clarified last year. "Neither the Lux Style Awards nor Unilever Pakistan has ever intruded into the independence of the Jury’s decision," it stated in 2019.
Yet, each passing year sees fewer stars on the red carpet of the coveted award show and raises more questions about its nomination criteria. This year, too, saw online backlash after many pointed out that big names remained missing from the final nominations list – particularly in the fashion and film categories. The Express Tribune reached out to the platform prior to the award show for a clarification on the same, however, Lux did not respond to the queries till the filing of this report. Therefore, traversing the red carpet of the 22nd LUX Style Awards with a sea of unanswered questions, our team embarked upon the journey that was this year's LSAs.
Down the red carpet
Household names like Fahad Mustafa and Saba Qamar strutted down the red carpet relatively early – both were hosts for the evening. Ahmed Ali Butt, another host (alongside Durrefishan Saleem) also graced fellow fraternity members and the media. Amar Khan, Wajahat Rauf, Aashir Wajahat, Imran Ashraf, Sarmad Khoosat, Alina Khan, Saim Sadiq, Ali Junejo, Sana Jafri, Abdullah Siddiqui, and Aijaz Aslam eventually graced the coveted awards show. However, the presence of certain stars made the absence of others seem more pronounced.
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The ceremony itself started later than planned, and, initially, sound issues plagued what could have been smooth sailing for the show. Saba and Fahad kick-started the event, and their banter, while welcome, bordered on awkward at times. However, no one can deny Saba's charm, no matter how poor the joke that must be cracked, and Fahad, a true showman, ensured that empty silences were filled with some form of back-and-forth.
An in-memoriam section paid tribute to the likes of Tony Navaid, Ismail Tara, Afzal Ahmed, Imran Aslam, Zia Mohyeddin, Qavi Khan, Aaliya Nazir, Shakeel, and Natasha Saigol. Legendary writer Shoaib Hashmi, who passed away in May 2023, was notably missing from the list. A short break between this section and the next cracked an opening for Fahad to joke about having three seconds of silence for the Indian remake of Pasoori.
Music
The music segment kicked off with a power-packed performance of Us Rah Par by Faisal Kapadia, Talha Yunus and Shae Gill, who graced the stage in all-white. This was followed by the first award of the evening for Meesha Shafi in the Most Stylish Musician of the Year category. In the absence of Meesha or a representative, the ever-green Marina Khan was called on stage to collect the honour. She promised to pass it on to Meesha’s mother.
Moving forward, an award for Pasoori in the Most Streamed Song of the Year category was announced. How a category based on streams (facts, available on streaming platforms to see) was open for voting is a question that needs to be answered. Nevertheless, Shae collected the honour in Ali Sethi’s absence and expressed her gratitude to God. “I am grateful to God for sending all the right people in my life,” she said, rather emotional.
The next award was presented to Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan (Xulfi) and Abdullah Siddiqui for (once again) Pasoori, in the only critics’ choice category in the music segment – Music Producer of the Year. While Xulfi remained absent, Abdullah graced the stage to reflect on his Pasoori experience. “I would like to acknowledge Xulfi, who spearheaded the Coke Studio journey, as well as Ali Sethi, Shae Gill and Sherry Khattak for Pasoori,” he said.
While there is no arguing that both Xulfi and Abdullah deserve a statuette for curating a song like Pasoori that traversed borders, becoming a global hit, several independent producers and their work either failed to make it to the final nominations list or wasn’t submitted. In that regard, this category left much to be desired.
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Next came Song of the Year category, for which the award unmistakably went to Kaifi Khalil for his masterpiece; Kahani Suno. Kaifi made a delayed but dazzling appearance on stage in an oversized white pantsuit as the crowd cheered him on. Aima Baig and Bilal Maqsood presented him the honour. “This was very sudden so… thank you so much,” Kaifi said in disbelief. “This award is for those who supported me; my fans, family and friends.” Interrupting his speech, Aima said, “I have also heard your song a thousand times.” Kaifi replied, “To you too.” Aima quickly added, “Kyunke mujhe bhi pyaar hua hai.” We feel you, Aima.
Last but not the least, the Singer of Year award was presented to Ali Sethi, who predictably could not make it to the show. His representative, albeit, received the honour, sharing, “Ali is busy on a tour but he said that it's very gratifying when any Pakistani song makes it big to the global stage. And this [Pasoori] is just the beginning for Pakistani music on the global front.”
Before awards for the fashion category could be announced, singer Ali Zafar and actor Mamya Shajaffar graced the stage for another performance.
Fashion
The fashion segment kicked off with an award for Abeer Asad in the Emerging Talent of the Year category. The trophy was presented by Fouzia Aman and Azfar Rehman. “Big night for me thanks to the Almighty,” she said upon receiving the award. “This is for my parents. One who left me 15 years ago, my mother. And for my father, who stood by me all my life. Girls need fathers like that,” she added on a teary note. Veterans in the business, Tapu Javeri and Vaneeza Ahmed graced the stage to present the Model of the Year award to Maha Tahirani, who kept her acceptance speech brief and impactful. “To all the girls that can dream,” she said.
Alina Naqvi became the first female to win the Fashion Photographer/Videographer Award at LSAs. “This is unnerving,” she said. “I can't believe I'm the first woman to win in this category but I will not be the last. This is for my friends and family who had faith in me. I had no former training; I just had an innate desire to create. But I'm lucky that women supported me and I hope I can do the same for young girls.” To all the young girls, Alina voiced, “Be very loud. There will come a day when you're wearing a fancy dress and you can't breathe and you will win an award.”
Sunita Marshall and Nadia Hussain took to the stage to honour the Makeup Artist of the Year. Sunil Nawab bagged the honour stating, “This is my third lux award. Thank you everyone.”
This was followed by Stylist of the Year Award presented by Ali Xeeshan and Kiran Malik to Tabesh Khoja. “Too many beautiful people. This is very close to my heart. I started this journey 12 years ago and I'm standing here today. Thank you to my beautiful muses, my mother (teary), and my second mother, that is Nabila,” he said.
Fifi Haroon and Deepak Perwani went on to present the Fashion Forward Brand of the year Award to Hussain Rehar, who was “super overwhelmed” after receiving his third Lux Style Award.
As the fashion segment concluded, a sense of eeriness dawned upon attendees as questions about “popular snubs” remained up in the air. There has been talk about fashion categories being stripped down over the years as the award show expands to include and award talent across the showbiz.
Perhaps the fashion segment could do with separate categories for male and female models, as well as defining categories for pret, formal, bridal-wear and so on. The Most Stylish Musician of the Year category was also introduced in the fashion segment when nominations rolled out. And while that was moved to the music segment during the show, more fashion categories could’ve been introduced ahead of time to avoid any confusion. After all, the show is meant to celebrate “style”, most of all.
TV
An ode to Reema Khan followed, after which Saba doubled as poetry in motion in an exceptional performance. A rather unusual combination surfaced in the form of Fahad and Mira Sethi, wherein Mira joked about how many awards Humayun Saeed had at his place. Humayun was, unfortunately, not in attendance to enjoy the shoutout. A rather tongue-in-cheek throwback to Fahad winning an award in 2019 and not thanking LUX was shown as a clip, almost like a reminder to all winners to do the needful. Jokes about extending submission deadlines but people not understanding how to submit portfolios were also made to alleviate some responsibility. Jabs at "keyboard warriors" were made, and Mira, in her character, questioned why politicians are slandered when they are voted into power, drawing a peculiar parallel between voting in politics and for the LSAs.
The Best Emerging Talent, Critic's Choice award was then presented by Usama Khan and Sehar Khan, to Dananeer Mobin, who won for Sinf-e-Aahan. The Best Ensemble Play, Critic's Choice Award was presented by Arsalan Naseer and Mira Sethi to the team of Sinf-e-Aahan, which delivered a lengthy speech, recollecting anecdotes and emphasizing on the vitality of such scripts.
Amar Khan and Yasir Hussain presented the next award for the Best TV Play Writer, Critic's Choice, which went to Mustafa Afridi for Sang-e-Mah. Saife Hasan came to accept the award on Mustafa's behalf, only to return on stage again to win the Best TV Director, Critic's Choice award for Sang-e-Mah. The award was presented by Sabeena Farooq and Mohammed Ehteshamuddin. Saife took the moment to thank the Almighty, but he heart-warmingly also thanked his wife, who, according to the director is behind all his success.
Yumna Zaidi had quite the night, taking home the LUX Style Awards for the Best TV Actor Female, in both the Critic's Choice and Viewer's Choice categories, making these her fourth and fifth LSA wins. Receiving the former from Mohib Mirza and Sanam Saeed, Yumna said, "We put a lot of effort into every character and it takes a lot of hard work, a lot of effort. But these ten steps, these are always very tough for me. This is my fourth LUX award," said the star to resounding applause. "I am so proud of myself that I am standing here and receiving this fourth LUX award," she added, thanking her mother, further stating that she hopes she can receive an award alongside her mother one day.
Upon winning her fifth award, presented by Hina Bayat and Sami Khan, Yumna said, "I had the confidence to receive one award, but these two, it seems like a dream. This is that for which I worked extremely hard for 11 years, and this is that for which I broke many formulas and norms." She also called her "fans and viewers from all over the world" her "biggest strength."
Ayesha Omar and Imran Ashraf presented the award for the Best TV Actor Male, Critic's Choice, to Bilal Abbas Khan, for whom the audience was already cheering. A tribute to veteran star Marina Khan followed, who was awarded the LUX Changemakers Award for her artistry, skill, and activism, labelling her an "epic agent of positive change". Upon accepting the award, Marina said, "I am very honoured to receive this award, and to be put in the same category as Haseena Apa and Nazia Hassan." She added, "Receiving an award becomes a big responsibility and I hope I can do justice to this award."
The Best Original Soundtrack, Viewer's Choice followed, which was presented by Aijaz Aslam and Sarwat Gilani, who seemed to sport a baby bump. Upon her entrance on stage, Fahad even congratulated the star. The award went to Farhan Saeed and Hania Aamir starrer, Mere Humsafar. The award for Best Long Series, Viewer's Choice followed, which Fahad accepted for Betiyan. The Best TV Play, Viewer's Choice award went to Kaisi Teri Khudgarzi.
However, in a surprising turn of events, up against names like Atif Aslam for Sang-e-Mah and Farhan for Mere Humsafar, Arsalan Naseer took home the trophy, presented by Yumna. He acknowledged that the competition was tough, and expressed his gratitude at winning the award. A rather colourful performance by Farhan and Maya Ali followed. However, it was 1:19 AM by the time they could begin, and one could tell that the sheer stretch of the event, which, on paper, began at 6:30 PM, was taking its toll on some of those present. That did not stop Farhan and Maya from committing to their bit, however, and they seemed to have given it their all.
Film
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The final chunk of awards followed, with Kamli winning the Best Film, Critic's Choice Award. Saba, who was presenting, rushed to embrace Sarmad Khoosat, who was backstage, getting ready to present. Shocked and pleased, both Saba and Sarmad conveyed their gratitude. In a double whammy, Sarmad also won Best Director Critic's Choice for Kamli. However, in a heartwarming gesture, he handed over the award to Joyland's Saim Sadiq, commending him for his work on the film that put Pakistan on the map globally in more than one way.
Presented by Hania Aamir and Sarmad, the Best Film Playback Song of the Year, Viewer's Choice was awarded to Peela Rung from Parde Mein Rehne Do. Fahad and Mahira Khan starrer Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad bagged the Viewer's Choice award for Best Film of the year. What followed next, however, was rather strange. Ahmed and Durefishan entered to usher Saba and Fahad off the stage for the remaining awards, spoiling the fact that either one or both of the hosts were due awards. To no one's surprise but everyone's pleasure, Saba took home the award for Best Film Actor Female, Viewer's Choice, presented by Asif Raza Mir and Reema.
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As the crowd anticipated Fahad's name to be called out for Best Film Actor Male, Viewer's Choice, Asif left everyone stunned by announcing Feroze Khan as the winner for Tich Button. A confused silence fell upon the audience, and questioning grunts were directed at Asif who showed the name to Reema as confirmation. With no one believing what had transpired, the music began to play and Imran rushed onto the stage to accept the award on Feroze's behalf. The wave of bewilderment was broken by Fahad making his way to the stage, applauding. True to his showman spirit, he, alongside his fellow hosts, brought the night to a close.
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