If you haven’t heard of the PISA awards yet, they’re a completely new award show to honour the best in TV, film, music, fashion and social media in Pakistan. However, a lot of celebrities have called them out on their mismanagement and false promises.
Bushra Ansari, one of the most respected screen veterans of Pakistan deemed the award a “stunt”, and “professional fraud”. She opined that these awards were just an excuse for a few artists to travel abroad while businessmen made money banking on their names. She also questioned the legitimacy of the awards and asked younger artists to “wake up”.
Her sentiments were echoed by Dilpazir Khan, Nadia Afghan, and Adnan Shah Tipu. All three had been ostensibly invited to the award show and not flown to the venue in Dubai. Film critic Omair Alavi also joined in, asking the PISA award organizers why they asked him to be a part of the jury if they couldn’t even take him to Dubai.
Nadia Afghan
Adnan Shah Tipu
Omair Alavi
With everyone criticizing #PISA for their unprofessionalism, their haphazardness and their attitude towards nominees (and in my case, Jury), here is my take.
جب دبئی لےُ جا نہیں سکتے تو جیوری میں رکھتے کیوں ہو!!!!! pic.twitter.com/F1j2Ri7PpH
— Omair Alavi (@omair78) February 7, 2020
Another disapproving voice came from actor Ali Safina, who had been nominated in the category of ‘Best Actor in a Comedy Role’. He had grown tired of the organizers using his name, among others, for publicity and not giving them the due respect they deserved. He also questioned their credibility and contribution to the industry.
Similar concerns were raised by “Bulbulay” actor Nabeel. Through his Facebook post he shared his experience and called it unethical and “an insult to me and many other artists who were contacted and committed to travel”.
The PISA Awards took place last night at Dubai on February 7th, 2020. However, the fraternity seems to be pretty strongly boycotting them for their mismanagement and callousness.
Editor’s Opinion: Awards are an overrated gimmick. Some of the most popular, beloved, and memorable films and TV serials of all time haven’t received any major awards, yet they still endure. Ultimately the audience decides what kind of cinema they want and the awards always fade away. The world is realizing this day by day and that’s why the ratings for award shows, including the Oscars are declining every year.
If contributions to cinema and entertainment industry are to be honoured, perhaps artists should be given awards during a swift ceremony lasting an hour. Better yet, awards should be announced online and mailed to the artists. That won’t happen, since the goal of an award ceremony is to make money, sell advertisements, and put on a show. At the end of the day, awards aren’t worth the material they’re made of.
