The second edition of Pakistan International Screen Awards happened on November 5 in Madinat Jumeirah Arena, Dubai. It was undoubtedly the first major event for Pakistani entertainment industry held outside of Pakistan since the pandemic. The last international award show that happened was PISA, the first edition of which happened in February, weeks before COVID hit the world. This year brought a lot of joy and high spirits to the red carpet as well as on the stage as PISA seemed to have learnt from its past mistakes and managed to keep the show flowing easily. Though there were glitches here and there, overall, the show ran smooth.
Red carpet, hosted by Maha Amjad, was star studded. Feroze Khan and Hania Aamir stealing the show with fans and media members flocking to them to take pictures and interviews. Hiba Bukhari, Ushna Shah, Iqra Aziz, Yasir Hussain, Javed Sheikh, Faisal Qureshi, Ali Azmat, Umair Jaswal, Sana Javed, Amar Khan, Faryal Mehmood, Tabish Hashmi, Ahmed Ali Butt, Affan Waheed, Omair Rana, Ali Abbas, Nida Yasir and Yasir Nawaz all were dressed to perfection and were happy to spend time with the media fraternity at the red carpet.
The show kicked off with the national anthems of the UAE and Pakistan. The national anthem of Pakistan was sung by Asim Azhar. One of the first performances was by Mehwish Hayat and Sheheryar Munawar with each of them performing to their hit songs: Munday Lahore De and Haye Dil Bechara.
The show moved at a quick pace with hosts changing quite efficiently as well. Yasir Hussein, Vasay Chaudhry, Wajahat Rauf, Waqar Zaka and Mehwish Hayat performed suitably well as hosts. Model/actor Amar Khan paid homage to Madam Noor Jahan by performing on her songs. Actor Faryal Mahmood, in her very indie style performed on Abdullah Siddique’s song.
The show also released a teaser of Wajahat Rauf and Shazia Wajahat’s upcoming film Parde Main Rehne Do starring Hania Aamir and Ali Rehman Khan.
Aashir Wajahat, son of director Wajahat Rauf, among other young singers, added a new taste to the song Dil Dil Pakistan.
Umair Jaswal’s medleys were definitely a mood-lifter and his cute moments with his wife Sana Javed were also a very nice touch that made his performance even more likeable.
Azmat Ali, our very own legendary rock star, added a spark to the show. But perhaps the best sequence of the night undoubtedly went to the legendary singer Sajjad Ali who sang a medley of his most memorable hits Cinderella and Mahiwal. All the celebrities were on their feet and chanted for him to sing the song ‘once more’.
Despite all the efforts, PISA was hit with #Baluchtwins controversy. Baluch twins were nominated in the ‘best music artist of the year’ category but they were informed by the management a day before the event that the flight had been cancelled when it was not. Their seats were deliberately refunded. This disrespectful move on the management’s part is still unclear as they haven’t yet addressed it, but has put a dent on their reputation and on the integrity of the platform.
Artists that took the trophy home
Music Category
Best Singer of the year: Asim Azhar
Best OST of the year: Asim Azhar for Ishiqia
Best song of the year: Momina Mustehsan and Bilal Saeed for Bari 2
Breakthrough artist of the year: Hassan Rahim
PISA rockstar: Ali Azmat
Fashion Category
Best bridal couture designer of the year: Nomi Ansari
Best model of the year: Fahmeen Ansari
Most promising model of the year: Faiza Ashfaq
Best brand of the year: Khaadi
Drama Category
Best director: Farooq Rind for Pyar ke Sadqay
Best writer: Zanjabeel Asim Shah for Pyar Ke Sadqay
Best serial: Pyar Ke Sadqay
Best supporting actor: Ahmed Ali Butt
Best actress jury: Sonya Hussayn for Saraab
Best TV actor jury: Mohib Mirza for Dushman e Jaan
Special award: Humayun Saeed
Best TV actor: Feroze Khan for Ishqiya
Best TV actress: Sarah Khan for Sabaat
Outstanding contribution to cinema: Mehwish Hayat
Social Media Category
Most entertaining Insta celeb of the year: Romaisa Khan
Best use of humour on social media: Comics by arsalan
YouTuber of the Year: Ducky Bhai (Saad ur Rahman)
Best vlogger: Shahveer Jafri
TikToker of the year: Jannat Mirza
