Momin Durrani feels humiliated at the hands of Lux Style Awards team

‘Yaar-e-Mann’ singer says he was invited at the very last minute

KARACHI: The confetti may have settled at the Lux Style Awards (LSA) 2016 venue,  but it seems the dust is far from settling. Coke Studio performer, voice-over artist Momin Durrani feels humiliated at the hands of the show’s organising team.

Nominated for singing the Best Original Soundtrack category for TV drama Diyar e Dil, alongside fellow crooner Zeb Bangash, Durrani received his show invite at the very last minute. “It had a silver code which meant instead of sitting with the artists, I was supposed to sit with the audience at the back,” he told The Express Tribune.

The song Yaar-e-Mann went on to win and Bangash was present on stage to receive the award, even singing a few lines from it.

Durrani, who did not turn up at the show, said awards do not matter to him. “But all my friends and family have asked me what happened. My name is still there in the credits. This is humiliating.”

When approached, LSA media manager Fareshteh Aslam said invites were delayed across the board and for that she apologised on behalf of the organising team.

Explaining the rules of the Best Original Soundtrack category, Aslam said the award technically belongs to the producer of the drama whose title song wins. “It was Momina Duraid’s award and neither Bangash’s nor Durrani’s,” she said.“Because Duraid was not present on the occasion, Bangash accepted it on her behalf.” The organiser said in the past when Ali Zafar had won the award in this category, it was given to the drama’s producer. Aslam nonetheless regretted what happened with Durrani.

In her acceptance speech, Bangash did not mention that she was taking the award on Duraid’s behalf. On the flipside, she expressed gratitude towards her fans and thanked her ustad for working tirelessly behind the scenes. Neither Durrani nor music director Shani Arshad, who actually came up with the composition, were mentioned.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 2^nd, 2016.

Like Life & Style on Facebook, follow @ETLifeandStyle on Twitter for the latest in fashion, gossip and entertainment.