LAHORE, July 5: The 12th Lux Style Awards had a distinct flavour of Lahore, not only in the choice of host, Ahmed Ali Butt, but also the choice of many of the performances, tributes, lifetime achievement awards, costumes and passing of the torch to the next generation with blessings.

The irrepressible Ahmed Butt opened the ceremony, for the second consecutive time, in the guise of a qawwal backed by Sonu Dangerous, to perform the song ‘Aaj Ki Shaam Lux Kay Naam’.

But it was merely the tip of the iceberg, for as the ceremony kicked in he appeared in numerous avatars, the most entertaining and popular with the audience being his parody of Taher Shah’s ‘Eye to Eye’. Needless to say, it was a winner hands down. The script was rock solid was [roved during Butt’s time on stage, something which cannot be said for some of the other performances during the evening.

Films

Upcoming Lollywood flicks such as ‘Waar and ‘Mein Hoon Shahid Afridi’ remained in the line of host Ahmed Butt’s fire as did Turkish plays, the recent general elections and Imran Khan-inspired designer kurtas. Butt also conducted a segment and improvised how some of the bigwigs from the fashion fraternity would campaign if they participated in the polls, targeting HSY, Tariq Amin, Khawar Riaz and celebrity weddings. Actress and model Humaima Malik further complimented Butt’s wit including tit bits about local and international dramas, international projects and music videos, films and brand ambassadors.

Up next was the first performance of the evening as Lollywood diva Meera waltzed to the tune of ‘Aaj Meera Naachay Gi’ from one of her earlier films.

Television

Supermodel Mehreen Syed and actor Sami Khan presented the Best TV Writer (All Channels) award to Khalilur Rehman Qamar for Manzilain (Geo TV). In the terrestrial category, Mahnoor Baloch was adjudged the Best Actress for her work in PTV serial Talafi. Actresses Zara Sheikh and Mehwish Hayat presented the Best Actor award to Nauman Ijaz who was not present, while the Best TV Play award went to Pagal by Yameen Malik on PTV and was presented by Saba Qamar and Momina Duraid.

Ahmed Butt took to the stage again, this time guised as the indomitable Sultan Rahi, to welcome Lollywood legend Mustafa Qureshi. The veteran actor stated his famous dialogue “nava aya aye, soneya” reverberated among the country’s fresh blood these days.

“I am proud of the young artists who have taken over from seniors. As for the legends who have passed away, new stars should follow in their footsteps. Our technicians remain world famous and have not died out with the films they worked on,” he said, adding, “If I am a tree today, this sapling was planted by filmmaker/director Raza Mir to whom I remain eternally grateful.”

Heralding in some more entertainment was a tribute to Punjabi film songs by five leading ladies of the entertainment industry. Sizzler Mathira opened the segment with her performance on Madam Noor Jehan’s hit song ‘Akh Larri Baddo Badi’. Next up was Sana with another one of Noor Jehan’s popular tracks ‘Tu Jo Mere Hamesha Kol Ravay’, followed by the beautiful Sahiba with ‘Tere Nal Nal Nal Ve Mein Raina’ and finally Noor dancing to ‘Sone Di Taveetri’. At the end, the leading ladies converged on the stage for the classic ‘Luddi Hay Jamalo’, reminding the audience of the glorious days of Lollywood and giving a hope of its revival soon.

This was followed by a tribute to the entertainers who had passed away in the past year with celebrated TV actress Saba Hameed reading out an obituary. The artists who were highlighted for their timeless contribution to the industry included legendary ghazal singer Mehdi Hassan, Mehnaz Begum, actor Lehri, actress Aasiya, music composer Master Manzoor Hussain and puppeteer Faizaan Peerzada with a show reel on each of them.

Music

Opening the music segment was a brief but superb stint by Ahmed Butt and Mathira making fashionistas such as Nomi Ansari, Zurain Imam, Ayesha Omer and Ali Xeeshan moving and shaking to popular Bollywood numbers. Moving on, presenters Meesha Shafi and Kamiar Rokni announced the Best Original Soundtrack award and gave it away to the play ‘Zindagi Gulzar Hai’. Momina Duraid received the award and noted the soundtrack had been written, composed and sung by superstar Ali Zafar.

The Best Video Director trophy went to Farhad Humayun of Overload who sportingly invited his band members on stage to receive it with him. Newcomer Ahmad Siddiqui received the Best Emerging Talent award from Noman Khalid and Asim Raza, Song of the Year went to ‘Katna Naye’ by Sajjad Ali and Album of the Year to Khamoshi by Ayesha Omer.

The iconic Naheed Akhter was invited on stage to present the Icon of the Year Award to the hugely popular Atif Aslam. Atif called it an honour to receive the award from the veteran singer at which she congratulated him and urged him to keep up the good work and to also sing for Pakistan’s film industry.

Mian Yousuf Salahuddin announced the Lifetime Achievement Award for internationally recognised late Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan with by a show reel of his celebrated musical genius. This was followed by a performance on a medley of the late legend’s songs by actresses Humaima Malik and Aamina Sheikh and Atif Aslam.

Fashion

After a brief act on the lawn craze in the country by Ahmed Butt and fashion model Zainab Qayyum (ZQ), the Best Dressed Male and Female on the red carpet were announced with designer Ali Xeeshan and actress and model Aaminah Sheikh, respectively, taking the trophies.

Best Fashion Photographer award was given to Guddu Shani, presented by designer Nomi Ansari and fashion model Rabia Butt. Nabila won the Best Hair and Make-up award, noting in her acceptance speech it was her ninth LSA trophy in the category and that it was her pursuit of excellence in styling that was her driving force. Achievement in Fashion Design (Lawn) was given to fashion pioneers Sana Safinaz, received on their behalf by Ather Hafeez who called it a privilege to work with the duo.

The award for Achievement in Fashion Design (Pret), presented by industry veterans Maheen Khan and Deepak Perwani, was handed out to Iman Ahmed of Body Focus. Achievement in High-Street Fashion was presented by fashion model Ayyan to Khaadi and was received on behalf of Shamoon by Frieha Altaf.

Iman Ahmed of Body Focus once again won the award for Luxury Pret, while Best Menswear award went to Ammar Belal.

Models Shehzad Noor and Mehreen Syed were adjudged the Best Male and Best Female Models, respectively, while the Best Emerging Talent award went to fashion model Saima Azhar. The Lifetime Achievement Award in Fashion was presented by artist, educationist and activist Salima Hashmi to the iconic Sehyr Saigol.

The fashion segment was the last of the awards, followed by a befitting end to the evening: a grand finale performance by Atif Aslam, who entertained the audience with his hit Bollywood tracks. Actresses Aamina Sheikh and Humaima Malik accompanied Atif during the act.