The red carpet for the 18th annual Lux Style Awards rolls out this week and with it comes the glamour, the style, excitement and a dusting of the starry magic that creates a halo over the show every year. It also comes with its fair share of challenges, of course, the consistent list-topper being how to keep the show-flow fresh and exciting year after year.
“The trick is to pick up on whatever people are excited about,” LSA Show Director, Frieha Altaf told me in a recent interview. This year, apparently, they are excited about Fahad Mustafa, Mehwish Hayat, Saba Qamar, Meera, the irreplaceable Atif Aslam and many more names that will be witnessed on the lineup. As always, there will be tributes to legends that the Lux Style Awards have made it their USP to honour every year. In an LSA first, Sarmad Khoosat will be writing the show script, which means one can sit back and rest assure that no politically incorrect jokes will be made; unless someone goes off-script, that is. With Ahmed Ali Butt and Yasir Hussain around that’s always a possibility. And with ‘Style’ being the LSA’s proverbial middle name, style and glamour is always such an integral part of the evening, handled with care and precision – as always - by Nabila and her creative team. I have to say things are looking good.
Eager to catch a bit of the pre-event hype, I dropped in at the rehearsals which, as always, were buzzing with excitement. Ace choreographer Nigah jee had flown in with his troupe of 40 dancers and they were all working to synchronize their steps with Mehwish and Fahad, Saba, Maya and Meera with Asad Siddiqui. “This is a very difficult segment for me as there are four very big stars to manage,” Nigah said between performing the perfect twirls. It didn’t seem possible that anyone could match his energy, expression or expertise but the stars came very close.
I caught a minute with Mehwish Hayat, between takes. This is the first time Mehwish will be performing at the LSAs, and that too with her Load Wedding co-star, Fahad Mustafa. “It feels amazing,” she said, catching her breath. “I’m working with a completely different team and it’s about connecting with people I’ve never worked with before. The team is really professional; Nigah jee is amazing and I love working with him. Fahad hasn’t performed anywhere before this and so that’s also very exciting.”
Mehwish was a bit worried about her performance wardrobe since she hadn’t tried it out yet but was she a wee bit nervous about her nomination too?
“I haven’t thought about that!” she laughed it off.
Newly anointed Lux Girl, Saba Qamar dropped in next, and delivered a perfectly practiced performance that left Nigah jee beaming with pride.
“I’m like a rock when it comes to dancing,” Saba was generous with her praise for the choreographer who had taught her to dance. “This man has put life in a rock.”
“No, no, she’s completely lying,” Nigah quipped into what was now sounding like a mutual-admiration club. “Saba is a wax doll you can mold anyway you like.” And transform she did on the dance floor, no longer seeming anything like Mannat of Cheekh or Fauzia Batool from her award winning portrayal of Qandeel Baloch in Baaghi. Saba Qamar was on fire and it was inspiring to see her confidence.
“There’s always a case of nerves!” she exclaimed, admitting that she was after all human. “I’m always anxious and excited and a bit nervous because anything can happen…something always happens with me, like when my ghagra fell off,” she laughed in reference to her wardrobe malfunction at another show. She was wearing another costume under it but it went down as an oops. “That’s just my luck, which is why I don’t want to think about it too much! I’m super-excited and I want to go with the flow.”
The rehearsals did flow smoothly, for several days and with so many stars coming and going. There was talk of perfecting dance steps, keeping energies up, avoiding cramps, sore feet, back aches and all that accompanies the kind of fuel one needs to fire into the moment. Above everything there was a sense of joy and pride in celebrating an industry that had come a long way, which it has whether you speak of film, fashion, music or television. There is a lot to be rejoiced and a visible, viable future for the entertainment industry that needs constant and consistent nurturing. It’s reassuring to see a platform like the Lux Style Awards pulling through 18 years of doing just that.
– The 18th annual Lux Style Awards will be held this week in Karachi and will air on GEO TV.
