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They dillied and dallied and twiddled their thumbs a bit, but the 14th Lux Style Awards (LSAs) are finally all set to take place with a promise of glitz, glamour, the whole shebang.

And yes, it may be a bit late in the year to be doling out accolades for the previous year, but the LSAs may just be able to redeem themselves with an event that pulls out all stops and is high on entertainment.

Will Fawad and Mahira shine?

As the umpteen billboards dotted about the city indicate, the show is going to be hosted by Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan, the much-loved Humsafar couple. Both stars have huge fan followings and airtime ratings are definitely going to shoot with the two being seen together after a long, long time.

It will be interesting to see, though, whether Mahira and Fawad manage to strike the easy repartee and comic timing required to carry an awards ceremony forward. It is, after all, an avatar that neither actor has been seen in yet and even some of the best performers sometimes fumble woodenly as ceremony hosts — the LSA’s past is marred by quite a few of those.

Word has it that some very nifty young scriptwriters have penned the LSA script, injecting plenty of witty spurts of comedy, and it may just manage to propel the show forward.

The talented trio

Hopefully, there’s going to be much more to look forward to at the LSAs, aside from the show’s very good-looking two hosts.

14 years down the line, the stalwarts who built the show brick by brick are still at its helm: Fareshteh Aslam as Awards Manager, Frieha Altaf as Producer and Show Director and Nabila as Image Consultant. Together, this very accomplished triad can be expected to orchestrate a memorable show.

With Nabila’s styling wand, the red carpet is bound to scintillate. Apparently, fashion at the LSAs this time is going to dominate on the red carpet with the on-stage ‘fashion shows’ of yore getting eliminated all together. It makes sense. The fashion industry, as it gains strength as a business, can no longer be relegated to mere entertainment at an awards ceremony and the fashion capsules at the LSAs had always seemed out-of-place.

In Frieha’s adroit hands, the show promises some memorable moments - something that she has unfailingly achieved at every LSA.

This time, more than ever, the LSA ceremony is going to be scrutinized. The LSA event in Lahore in 2013 was replete with blunders and some very mundane performances. The awards ceremony further trundled last year when it relegated itself to a mere tasteful high-tea as opposed to a grand show.

Returning to the spotlight this year, the LSAs need to deliver in order to re-assert their credibility and keep audiences hooked. Frieha is promising ‘something new’ and we’re taking her word for it.

Silver screen darlings

Quite a bit of refreshing ‘newness’ is going to be injected in by TV and cinema’s young blood, who are being touted as the show’s predominant entertainment factor. This is unlike previous LSAs where the shiny veneer of Lollywood featured prominently.

Now, the performances belong to the enterprising, very fashion-savvy stars and starlets who have lately been spreading their wings on the silver screen. Hopefully, this also indicates a departure from garish, bling-infested costumes that were used for performances in earlier LSAs.

There’s going to be a bit of Coke Studio music and judging from the many backstage images filtering in via Instagram, Ali Zafar is set to make an appearance. Could this year’s other Coke Studio star, Atif Aslam, also be a part of the LSA entourage? We’re not sure but we certainly hope so!

Honouring veterans

The Lifetime Achievement Award for Fashion is being given to Musarrat Misbah, for her many contributions through her conglomerate of salons at Depilex and her philanthropic work in aid of acid-burn victims.

The Unilever Chairman’s Lifetime Achievement Award has been reserved for filmmaker Syed Noor. There is, as is tradition, going to be the requisite tribute to the legends, but fortunately, this won’t be dedicated to Nazia Hassan or Madam Nur Jehan. With all due respect to the two, we have seen enough dedications to them — and some badly stilted ones, at that — to last us a lifetime.

The LSA verdict

Lastly, of course, there’s the raison d’etre driving the LSAs — the awards themselves.

The LSA ceremonies may have faltered lately, the awards most certainly need to be given out at a better time and every year, the nominations may stir up controversy with spurned contenders openly questioning their credibility.

Regardless, the LSAs continues to be the only award-giving platform that isn’t aligned with a single channel and represents the Pakistani entertainment minefield on the whole.

It will, as always, be riveting to see who wins and who doesn’t and following this, the inevitable diatribe dissecting certain results as fair and others as unfair.

Over time, the LSAs have been accused of bias and pandering to personal vendettas — and yet, 14 years down the line, the show’s results are still significant enough to be constantly scrutinised and discussed, supported and criticised. It is this interest that it continues to generate that makes the LSAs a distinctive brand name, keeping audiences hooked and the select milieu of the ceremony’s attendees excited.

It is this that’s going to have us shake out those uncomfortable high heels for the LSA 2015 red carpet. The show has certainly been advertised this year like never before. Let’s hope the show is worth the hype, and is reflective of their legacy in Pakistani entertainment.