Nadeem Baig calls out Pakistani award shows.
Director Nadeem Baig was a guest on Iffat Omar’s YouTube channel where he spoke about the way Pakistani award shows recognise those celebrities with a stronger social media presence, than those who display actual talent and range.
Speaking about the LUX style awards, the ‘Kuch Ankahi’ director called them ‘social media awards’ which did not award actors on the basis of their talent as he explained further:
“You can hack the system and ask 500 people to send in their votes. By the end of the day when the winners are announced you are left completely shocked.”
The director further expressed his disappointment at senior actor Nauman Ijaz losing to newcomer Arsalan Naseer for the ‘Best Actor’ category.
Listen to his complete statement below.
Previously, other actors have also criticised the nomination system of Pakistani award shows. In 2023, actress Sajal Aly released a lengthy statement on her Instagram stories where she requested for the Lux Style Awards to point that many phenomenal actors were not highlighted for their performances in dramas that year. Further on, she requested that the awards show add a category honouring supporting actors in films and dramas.
“My third request is: please add a way to honour supporting actors. We have great actors who make our plays stronger because of their contributions. Let’s appreciate them please.”
Actor Faysal Quraishi was a guest on a YouTube channel where he called for an end to award shows that solely recognised those celebrities with a larger social media platform. Giving the example of Hollywood, the actor pointed out how Chris Hemsworth had a big social media presence but wasn’t regarded as a better actor than Al Pacino.
