Asim Raza 'disheartened' by LSA nominations, questions qualification of its jury

This year's LSA nominations are out and they don't seem accurate to the 'Ho Mann Jahaan' director.

18 Mar, 2017

The LSA nominations often cause a stir among celebrities; last year it was Ahmed Ali Butt and Ali Safina who raised an issue, the year before, Bashar Momin and this year it's Asim Raza.

The award show's list of nominees for this year did not go down well with the Ho Mann Jahaan director -- he feels they are not apt. According to Asim, the jury should consist of qualified jury to make such selections.

"All I can say right now is that I am most disheartened to see the list of nominations. First of all I am most intrigued to know who are these jurors who are chosen to judge a complex category like Films & Film Music? Quality and excellence in the field of films cannot be judged by just anyone. It is a specialised field just like any other science if not more complex. These judgements cannot be made on the basis of popularity only. A juror's understanding of this craft needs to be a little higher then that."

He cites examples of Adeel Husain and Shehereyar Munawar for not having been nominated in the Best Actor category.

"In case of Ho Mann Jahaan there are some major shocks which I am still trying to get over. For example, Adeel Husain's name not being there in the lead actor category is a complete shocker for me. Not only in HMJ but even in Dobara Phir Se, he performed remarkably well.

"Similarly, Sheheryar Munawar being put in the Supporting Actor category just because he did not get the girl at the end is beyond my understanding. So are we saying that Leonardo DiCaprio should not be considered as main lead in The Great Gatsby because he also did not get the girl at the end?"

He continued to point out further snubs.

Asim remarked: "HMJ's music album which got celebrated even beyond Pakistan was not found worth a nomination in the male singer category by the LSA jury. From Fakhir's fresh arrangement for Asrar's 'Shakar Wandan' to Atif Aslam's 'Dil Kare', Jimmy Khan's 'Barish', ET's soulful arrangement for Abu Mohamad Farid Ayaz's 'Ghar Nari', Tina Sani's 'Khush Peya Wasse' to Mai Dhai Band, all got ignored."

He asked the film industry to start taking "things a little more seriously" in order to work towards better local cinema.

"We must realise that if we want to make cinema substantial in this country then we need to take it a little more seriously and responsibly. Just filmmakers won't be able to do that job alone. Anyone connected in any way is making a huge impact in conditioning the minds of our audience. Otherwise we should be ready to once again start converting our cinema halls into shopping complexes."

The LSA 2017 nominations came out on March 15.

Comments

sallu Mar 18, 2017 01:34pm

Good article. the Jury is definitely "parchi"

Recommend

nhuda Mar 18, 2017 04:11pm

Well, film star Noor's film was shot better than Asim Raza's film and it was not nominated in Nigar awards. So all award shows should take note. Plus, Asim Raza's film was tv movie at best just like Dobara Phir Se.

Irfan ul Huq Mar 18, 2017 10:11pm

@nhuda Absolutely correct.Pakistanis are confused between a TV play and movies.As Alfred Hitchcock once said "Taking pictures of talking people is not making movies. movie making is a proccess where a story is told through the eyes of camera. It involves screen writing, dividing shots , knowing the nuances of the language and expressing it according to the demand of the character. Finally an editor who can keep everything together.ln Pakistan and award is given and not earned.

Irfan ul Huq Mar 18, 2017 10:14pm

India or Pakistan no one ever explain the process of nominations. It is always an individual's liking.

Rana Umair Mar 20, 2017 11:50am

@Irfan ul Huq Oh, that's what Hitchcock said, did he?

Rana Umair Mar 20, 2017 11:54am

@nhuda Well, technically speaking, a TV movie is a movie that is shot for TV, so the examples you stated were not TV movies, since they were presented in cinemas. I understand that what you mean is these films didn't strike you as particularly cinematic, but that is completely besides the point. Asim himself has been nominated as a film-maker, so clearly the jury doesn't share your concerns about the tone of his film. His point is that Jurors should be chosen from amongst the most qualified individuals in their fields for every field. It is a very constructive criticism that will have a huge impact on the direction our cinema goes in.

Rana Umair Mar 20, 2017 11:56am

@Irfan ul Huq Exactly, Aping India or the U.S. wouldnt get us anywhere. They are large economies with a completely different playing field. We need to look at smaller markets like the UK and France, and try to learn from their successes and failures.

Irfan ul Huq Mar 21, 2017 07:46am

@Rana Umair Yes He did!!

Irfan ul Huq Mar 21, 2017 07:59am

@Rana Umair US or India no need to ape but nothing wrong in being inspired.Satyajit Raae was a renowned Movie Maker from Bangal. His movies with low budget and simple stories. He was given and Oscar 4 lifetime achievement Award and it was delivered to him in Kolkota. If we want to manufacture car we don't have to reinvent the wheel, we must follow through the work that has already being done.

hamza Mar 21, 2017 10:58am

Ho Mann Jahan was the best thing happened to pakistani cinema last year......i was expecting it to sweep award season....but just like bin roye didnt get a single nomination at ary awards .these award functions needs to time and experience to evolve

Muhammad Ali Dairywala Mar 21, 2017 07:10pm

Ho Mann Jahan was a coming of age Pakistani movie, with a purposeful and lesson-oriented story. Just because it had a lot of TV actors does not make it a TV movie. The music and lyrics of its songs were awesome. And in no way it seemed like a Bollywood movie, with a very urban Pakistani culture portrayed. It should have been nominated for more awards.