The real highlight of Ramazan TV might just be Fahad Mustafa's sense of style

In Ramazan, most of our celebrities are perpetually in the limelight, appearing in special live transmissions daily, climbing atop cars, riding motorbikes, letting girls chase them and what-not.

It’s a high-pressure, busy, busy schedule but most of them still have the time to make some wacky sartorial choices.

And so, Ramazan transmissions, apart from often verging towards complete insanity, can also be quite cringe-worthy wardrobe-wise.

On stages replete with Islamic floral art and layers of bling, celebs make the mistake of coordinating with outfits that match! It’s quite unfathomable why they do this – these are individuals who are well-traveled, have exposure to fashion and are given the opportunity to be seen by mass audiences at a prime viewership time for an entire month. They could make the effort to enlist designers or stylists so that they could at least up the bar.

Instead, every year, the Ramazan transmission montage sinks to new sartorial lows. Bad for the celebrities who wear these clothes, but sometimes entertaining for us.

“It’s sad because these celebrities have the chance to educate the masses not just with better content but also with the way they present themselves. They fail on both accounts,” observes Tabesh Khoja, stylist to the stars at Nabila salon.

“When you watch Ramazan transmissions, you can see that the production teams aren’t really bothered with details like styling and wardrobe. They just devise the content and then let the celebrities become walking fashion disasters. They’ll put on too much makeup, erect veritable Taj Mahals on their heads before pinning the dupatta on to it and opt for heavily embellished clothing that would make more sense at a wedding. I haven’t ever been asked to help with the styling of a Ramazan transmission because I don’t think they’re interested. In retrospect, it isn’t really my cup of tea either.”

Possibly one of the main reasons leading to low wardrobe standards is that TV networks would have to pay designers and stylists to dress celebrities – an expense that they’d rather avoid. Nomi Ansari, for instance, often states that he doesn’t give out free clothes and therefore, isn’t a popular designer with the TV networks. Ahmed Bham, possibly the country’s foremost menswear designer, similarly explains that channels want to borrow clothes for free and this simply doesn’t work for his business. “I also don’t want my label to be associated with a really tacky show,” he adds.

And there’s no denying that Ramazan transmissions can be quite tacky. Stylist Haiya Bokhari points out that networks can even obtain free, relatively better wardrobes should they make the effort. “Nishat Linen created the wardrobe for 70 performers at the Lux Style Awards this year. I am sure that, given the right opportunity, big high-street brands like Nishat would happily allow networks to take clothes for free from them.”

The utter disregard for wardrobe design that celebs basically wear whatever they please and the consequences of this aren’t too easy on the eyes.

Here we examine the sartorial choices of Ramazan TV's biggest stars.

 

‘Fahad Bhai’ – as he is lovingly called by the huge audience that hopes that he will award them with motorcycles, cars and gold in the game show that he hosts on the ARY Network – is obviously quite the dandy. He’s fond of swaggering onto the stage and often referring to his longstanding atelier of choice, a ‘Cherrys House of Fashion’ located in Karachi’s PECHS area. He’ll also climb on top of cars and make sure that the camera has a good long look at his wardrobe. And while Fahad’s lean frame and boyish good looks allow him to get away with certain rather experimental designs, there have been times this year when his clothes have been a bit mindboggling.

For instance, as a guest in the Salam Zindagi morning show on ARY Zindagi, Fahad came dressed head to toe in distressed denim. He completed the look with white frames which were probably meant to be funky but ended up just looking odd. Perhaps Fahad was trying to personify the young college guy? Or maybe he was simply departing from his evening Eastern-wear Ramazan avatar and going for clothes that were supposed to be cool and casual. It certainly wasn’t ‘cool’ by any length of the imagination. Too much of anything is never a good idea, including denim.

In his own game show, Jeeto Pakistan, Fahad has constantly been seen in Eastern-wear and he wears the crisp cotton kurta, straight pant and waistcoat combo very well. Except when he mixes and matches the colors a bit too much – a salmon-colored kurta with a mauve chequered waistcoat or a fawn kurta with a blue stripey waistcoat or a kurta ambitiously delving into color blocking and failing with a white patch across the shoulders and sleeves, leading to an all-blue ensemble. It’s enough to make us go color blind!

What one does like about Fahad’s Ramazan wardrobe: the pocket-squared snug waistcoat and the outfits where he has stuck to solid monochromes.

Faisal Qureshi in Salam Zindagi

Faisal Qureshi likes kurtas where one sleeve is printed and the other is plain and a big printed pocket takes center stage. We don’t like those.

He’s fond of synthetic shiny fabric that is molded into kurtas that are a bit too snug for him and to us, it all just looks a tad too uncomfortable. He also apparently loves big floral embroideries, as seen on the waistcoat that he wore in the episode where Fahad Mustafa decided to go on his aforementioned denim spree. That’s a bit too much flower power for our visual senses.

One wishes that the actor and host would get a proper stylist to devise his wardrobe. His talent is undeniable – his bad wardrobe choices are also quite irrefutable.

Aamir Liaquat in Ramazan Mein Bol

Televangelist Aamir Liaquat Hussain has more or less stuck to Eastern-wear in austere, solid tones. He’s been seen wearing single-hued kurta shalwars or all-white suits paired with waistcoats. But everybody likes a bit of color in their lives and the veritable inventor of Ramazan transmissions in Pakistan does have his florid moments.

One such instance this year was during the Sehri Ramazan transmission on the Bol Network where Aamir Bhai coupled a tangerine embroidered kurta with a white shalwar and swung a silky jacket on top of it. It was quite dizzying, especially in a transmission that takes place in the middle of the night and involves serious religious discussions.

Also, keeping it simple should suit Aamir Bhai better, given the amount of on-stage running around he does while giving away airplanes and BMW’s!

Sahir Lodhi in Ishq Ramazan

Speaking of running, it’s apparently a sport that the infamous Sahir Lodhi is quite fond of given that his show includes a game where girls have to run after him and the first one to catch him wins a motorbike.

Allow us to pause and roll our eyes a bit before proceeding. But silly, offensive games aside, Sahir’s sticking to the holy ‘raasta’ this month in basic kurtas and straight pants that actually suit him better than his eccentric Western-wear choices.

The few times he didn’t look all that great was when he opted for a grey Che Guevara hoodie, pairing it with electric yellow pants - or when he channeled his inner Shahrukh Khan in an all-black look complete with reflective sunglasses.

Should Sahir ceases in his quest to look like Shahrukh Khan and smolder hero-like whenever he gets the chance, his wardrobe could become a bit more acceptable. But perhaps that’s a bit too much to ask of Sahir.

Farhan Ali Waris on multiple TV channels

Farhan Ali Waris has been flitting from one TV channel to the other and his talent at reading naats beautifully has to be acknowledged.

It’s also quite necessary to acknowledge that he is possibly the worst dresser that we have seen during Ramazan transmissions.

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That’s quite an achievement given the amount of competition he faces in the category. But with an utter disregard for color, texture, the sweltering weather and the fact that a naat-khawan is supposed to have a certain ‘look’, Farhan has committed umpteen fashion disasters.

According to his Facebook page, credit for his wardrobe goes to ‘FAW collection’. This means that he’s even designing the clothes himself – and he’s quite bad at it. Consider his choices of late: woolly chequered and striped jackets, salmon pink coats over kurta shalwars and bright printed waistcoats.

Perhaps if Farhan was appearing in an Eid transmission, some of his clothes would have still gelled in somewhat. In Ramazan, though, the clothes just don’t coordinate well with his professional standing as a well-known naat-khawan.

Nauman Ijaz in Dil Dil Ramazan

In contrast, Nauman Ijaz is hitting all the right notes in a tasteful line-up of crisp cotton kurtas that suit his age and his role as a Ramazan show host. Solid hues and the minimal use of print has dominated his wardrobe so far and we’re hoping that he doesn’t succumb to the sadly prevalent love for bright colors and bling.

Waseem Badami in Shan-e-Ramazan

Also choosing his wardrobe wisely is ARY’s Waseem Badami who is always on a roll come Ramazan, grinding his way through umpteen religious discussions with scholars and having his sehris and iftars on air every day. Thankfully, Waseem’s elongated hours on live TV aren’t rendered painful by garish clothes – he generally opts for well-fitted single toned kurta pajamas that may not be memorable but suit him well.

Shahid Afridi in Shan-e-Ramazan

In his all-new role as TV host in an effort to raise more awareness regarding his charity, Shahid Afridi has constantly been seen wearing cotton kurtas paired with jackets. It’s no fashion statement but the look suits him well. Given the heat, though, we’re pretty sure that Boom Boom is probably feeling really uncomfortable most of the time.

Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar in Geo Khelo Pakistan

Channels seem to think that hiring seasoned cricketers to host Ramazan shows is a great idea. Having seen Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar’s goofy attempts at being ‘awami’, we beg to differ. The duo, however, aren’t doing anything wrong wardrobe-wise. Wasim, who has always been a sharp dresser, has been wearing well-fitted suits with coordinated waistcoats and pocket kerchiefs. They two have also been seen wearing basic kurtas with their pocket squares adding just the right bit of color. Good wardrobe choices – but perhaps a bad career choice for both Wasim and Shoaib?

Ayesha Omar in Ishq Ramazan

Ayesha Omar had made the sad mistake last year of opting to become a Ramazan show host. The normally glamorous actress who doesn’t have any problems with skin-show suddenly donned a dupatta on her head and launched into theological discussions – and promptly got bashed for it.

This year, in her appearance in Sahir Lodhi’s Ishq Ramazan show, Ayesha thankfully made the sensible choice of wearing a lawn outfit from Shehla Chatoor’s upcoming unstitched collection for Shariq Textiles. With peek-a-boo shoulders and a gorgeous silk dupatta that the actress swung down one shoulder, Ayesha looked great and completely comfortable. Holier-than-thou Ramazan transmissions aren’t for everyone and it’s good to see her realize this.

Mehwish Hayat in Jeeto Pakistan

Shehla Chatoor, often associated with slinky Western fusion, seems to be making a conscious effort to bring her Eastern formals into the limelight. While Ayesha Omar came dressed in the designer’s lawn, actress Mehwish Hayat made her guest appearance in Jeeto Pakistan in a Shehla Chatoor formal.

The powder-blue tunic worn by Mehwish was very pretty, worked with florals and cut-work and paired with white bell-bottoms with light blue florals printed across them. A matching dupatta completed the outfit. Quite eye-catching and a prime example of how having a designer on-board can improve the way a celebrity makes an impression during Ramazan.

Looking traditional doesn’t mean that you have to look garish and even downright clownish. Ramazan transmission celebs and production teams please take note.