Music awards extravaganza
on Thursday, July 29 @ 14:30:49 PKT
Pop music dominates in Pakistan. The first music awards of Pakistan were organised by the Indus Music channel. The Jazz IM Awards were held at Alhamra Hall in Lahore on Saturday. The event brought together most of the popular singers in the country. The grand awards ceremony held on the pattern of Grammy Awards was a treat to watch and may start new trends. The stars and celebrities of different fields of showbiz walked the red carpet in style to enter the hall premises. Celebrities at the height of fashion in clothes specially prepared by designers created that magical showbiz atmosphere not seen around much. The man who stood out was pop singer
Ali Zafar arriving in shining dhoti kurta. Najam Sheraz in tuxedo and then in reddish colour suit also stood out. Sajjad Ali, Ali Azmat and Sukhbir continued to wear sunglasses throughout the night. Tooba and Mani received the guests while recording their comments. Inside the hall the atmosphere was charming with striking display of lighting creating special effects. Faizan and Umber Dino and Anoushey enlivened the show with witty remarks in English and funny acts. Interestingly the whole show was conducted in English. The stars too talked in English and those finding it difficult chose to remain silent.
The celebrities who presented the awards included pop star Sukhbir, Nadia Afgan, Hassan Shehryar, ZQ, Asad Amanat, Shafqat Amanat, Sarmad Sultan, Amina Shafat, Humayun Saeed, Imaan Ali, Ali Azmat, Salman Ahmed, Marina Khan, Suneita Marshall, Resham, Iraj, Adnan Siddique, Tina Sani, Usman Peerzada, Musarrat Misbah, Rahat Fateh Ali, Sajjad Ali, Sania Saeed, Samina Peerzada, Deepak Perwani, Asim Raza, Tariq Amin, Nadia Hussain. Savera Nadeem, Shoaib Hashmi and Yousaf Salahuddin.
There was something nostalgic about the whole event as well. Video clippings of the songs of super stars like Alamgir, Nazia Hassan, Zohaib Hassan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Sajjad Ali and Vital Signs were shown on the two screens. Rather the whole history of pop music in Pakistan was fondly traced with other popular stars' clippings featuring in too. Lifetime Achievement Award was given to legendary singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan collected this award. Special IM Awards for contribution to music was given to Nazia Hassan. Salman Ahmed of Junoon came to take this award. Others who were given special awards were Alamgir, Sajjad Ali, Najam Shiraz and Ali Haider, Sajjad receiving the award said that this was his first award and recognition of his talent. Tina Sani receiving Alamgir's award disclosed that Alamgir had introduced her as a singer. A special award was also given to lyricist Sabir Zafar who has written over 500 songs.
Medley performances continued throughout the show. The best was the Western one in which performing artistes played Beatles, Elvis Presley, George Michael and Michael Jackson with their popular songs playing in background. The moonwalk performance by a youngster was admiringly good.
Stars who presented their dance numbers included Ali Haider (presenting Purani Jeans), Humaira Arshad, Jawad Ahmed and Najam Shiraz. Band Overload of Papu Sain gave an electrifying performance on dhol, daphli and acoustic drum. The band received a standing ovation from the audience. There was also a dance performance on song 'Channo'. The show ended with the presentation of song 'Garaj Baras' by Junoon.
-- Courtesy The Nation Plus
