The Lux Style Awards is an award ceremony which has been held annually in Pakistan since 2002. The ceremony celebrates "style" in the Pakistani entertainment industry, such as cinema, television, fashion, music, sports and film industry. Categories have changed over the years, but most are awarded by panels of judges who are experts in the respective industries, with some "people's choice" awards in the film and TV categories.[1]
The ceremonies, which are televised, have usually been held in Karachi, but in some years have taken place in Lahore, Kuala Lumpur and Dubai.
History
The Lux Style Awards were created and developed in 2002 by Naheed Chowdhry, the female executive who headed the Unilever Lux team at the time,[2] in collaboration with Frieha Altaf, TV and event producer and former model.[3][4] It is the largest annual awards ceremony held in Pakistan.[5][6]
The ceremony was postponed in 2008 owing to security concerns and economic conditions, and it was decided to provide annual scholarships to students of the National College of Arts (TV and Film), National Academy of Performing Arts (Music), and to two fashion schools.[7]
Viewer's Choice Awards for best male and female actors had originally been added to engage audiences viewing the show. In 2019, it was decided to add critics' choice awards for these categories as well.[8]
The Lux Awards have been televised in most years.[9]
Aminah Haq won Best TV Actress at 3rd Lux Style Awards for her performance in Mehndi. Many thought that Sania Saeed gave a better performance in Thori Si Mohabat that year, and the only reason she lost was that her play was broadcast by a private TV channel (Geo Entertainment). On the other hand, Mehndi was aired on PTV that was widely available all over the country and was more accessible for audiences. So, for 4th Lux Style Awards it was decided that there would be separate acting and play categories for terrestrial and satellite TV channels.[10]
Many celebrities pulled out their nominations from 18th Lux Style Awards in the wake of MeToo movement. Ali Zafar was nominated for Best Film and Best Film Actor that year, many celebrities took to social media to give their support towards Meesha Shafi who previously made sexual harassment allegations against Ali. They urged LSA jury to pull out his nominations. When the jury denied their request many decided not to be a part of the ceremony.[11]
Ceremonies
The following is a listing of all Lux Style Awards ceremonies since 2002.
