Nominations for the 22nd Lux Style Awards were announced on 3rd September, with industry members being quick to notice one notable omission. ‘The Legend of Maula Jatt’, the biggest hit of the year, was not nominated among the films. Surprising considering that the movie received critical acclaim for its writing, acting, action sequences and made $13.8 million worldwide.
Journalist Hassan Kazmi has uncovered the reason now, by releasing a statement from film producer Ammara Hikmat, who stated:
“While we are honoured that Lux considered our film for their nominations, we find that their limited range of film categories doesn’t align with our values. The absence of categories for best director or writer, etc, disregarding their major and substantial creative contributions, while including one for best playback song doesn’t resonate with our vision for comprehensive film recognition. Therefore, we’ve decided not to make an exception in this case.”
Kazmi further tweeted that the team behind ‘TLOMJ’ had stepped back so to give other films a proper chance:
“The Legend of Maula Jatt is not even up for votes in #LSA2023 I have learnt that the makers have #TLOMJ have regretted as it was the biggest film, so the makers have decided to give others a chance. I have learnt from the sources that The Legend of Maula Jatt will be acknowledged at the main event in October this year.”
While Maula Jatt is out of the running, once more male actors charged with abuse have been nominated for the Lux Style Awards. Feroze Khan, who was publicly accused by his ex-wife Syeda Aliza of domestic violence and torture, was nominated twice for best male actor in dramas, and also for his performance in ‘Tich Button’.
While Mohsin Abbas Haider, who was publicly accused by his wife of domestic abuse, and then found guilty by a Lahore court in 2019, was nominated for his performance in the drama ‘Siyani’.
