Khawar Riaz is known as a star-maker par excellence and has been instrumental in making several careers Zara Sheikh, Farooq Mannan, Ahmed Butt, Arooj, Imran Abbas, Amina Shafat, Danial… the list of stars made by this star makers is endless. Having the Midas touch must make him feel ten feet tall!

“I love unconventional faces - faces that most other people wouldn’t consider exceptional. I sometimes get fascinated by a particular face and imagine how I could go about transforming it. For instance, when Ahmed and Zara came to me, no one would have thought that they had it in them to become models, but I saw their potential right then and there. I immediately knew that they would become the king and queen of the industry. But I had to work on them. I had to give them time, patience, and the right kind of environment. And then they just blossomed and these seemingly ordinary individuals became head-burning beauties. Stars need to be made into stars; there’s always a creator behind them”.

In a place like showbiz where careers are quite short-lived to procure numero uno status is difficult, but what is even more difficult is to sustain it. There is this general impression that Ather Shahzad have managed to keep the fire going, while Khawar’s work, on the other hand, is fast losing its edge.

How would you defend your decline?

“I think I am very successful in my own way. I am still surviving. Success does not lie in people’s praise but in your body of work - what you deliver. If you are satisfied from within, I believe you have achieved it. And this inner satisfaction is far better than keeping others happy, you have to be true to yourself and do what feels right. If you go against your inner being just for some worldly attainment, you will never be happy in the long run. People who play diplomatic games lead very disturbed personal lives. But that’s not the case with me. Thank God!” says Khawar with sheer confidence.

Interview: Moazzam Abbasi
Hair and Makeup: KR Crew
Photography: Khawar Riaz

You are not only the queen of the local music industry, but happen to be the only big female pop star. Why aren’t there more female singers from good families out there? How have you managed to retain this monopoly?

It’s been five long years since Umair Butt left home to try his fortune abroad and now he’s back with a bang (even if it is temporarily). Fashion designers have been rolling out the red carpet, and why not? After all, Umair Butt was the first male supermodel of the Pakistani fashion industry. Undoubtedly this model has a lot going for him: besides his devastating good looks, he has the sort of casual confidence that only maturity and experience can bring. But perhaps the greatest edge that he has over his would-be rivals is that he is a truly professional by Khawar’s standards. It cannot be denied that in his time, Umair made waves in the fashion world. And if he has returned it is only to garner more honors. So we have Umair Butt, who has eloquently expatiated on everything from Khawar to today’s male model heartthrob Abdullah and marriage.

Have you made a comeback only because you were unsuccessful in Canada and repent for having left the fashion industry?

Few, dare to be different. Especially, in an extremely conservative society. Even fewer, find acclaim in doing so. She’s one of them. Nabila. Rebellious and revolutionary. Known for defying conventions, Nabila’s ventured into uncharted terrain and walked her way to victory as Pakistan’s top hair stylist and make-up artist. Today, she’s a name well-regarded in the international fashion scene for her unique work.

For a person whose made her mark in the make-up business over an impressive 20 years, Nabila comes across as rather soft-spoken and unassuming. Pride is a thing that’s not on her palette. A rare virtue in the world of high-fashion, where people wear ego on their sleeve. She allows her work to speak for her. Work that’s visionary, and challenges all that’s in vogue. An attitude, that’s way ahead of times.

1. What is on your mind?

That I have to go for shopping, go to studio for voice dubbing, make a few phone calls, see my designer, get manicure and pedicure done… Ah! I am out of breath!

2. If you had to make an apology, what would it be for and for whom?

My mother! For not giving her much time because of my hectic schedule.

3. Where’s the best place to be?

Home.

4. What scares you most?

Bad karma.

5. What keeps you sailing in a crisis?

My willpower.

What is power? Who has it? How can you tell? These are questions that have no easy answers. Ask an assertive journalist, and you’ll hear a vehement dismissal of all glamour types and the list of powerful people whittling down to a stodgy industry bigwigs. Ask a starry-eyed showbiz fanatic and you’ll hear a bubbly eulogy for all the hot starlets who in reality would not even have the clout to wangle a solo project. So the dilemma remains.

Aladdin had a magic lamp and he could make his genie do everything, but that was centuries ago. Khawar Riaz doesn’t have a magic lamp but he has a mind that works far better than that. No wonder he picks up people from the streets and turn them into Greek gods and goddesses.

“Khawar grooms his models in such a way that no one really believes that they have been picked up from the streets” designer Deepak Perwani recently commented. The only problem is that at one stage the demi gods and goddesses think of themselves immortals and become too big for their own boots. Case in point: Zara Shiekh and Ahmed Butt, Two people KR took under his wings, spent money, groomed them and presented them to the world of fashion as his discoveries.

Don’t get surprised if you spot the most stunning model of the town at the modest interior of PIVIC Saddar arguing at the absence of Roshan Ara Begum rather than rocking in frenzy at some lazy number of Beyonce Knowles at a trendy elite party. The popular Nawab Sultan of Umrao Jaan Ada, IMRAN ABBAS in person too seems to belong more to the oriental Moghul era with a refined sense of aesthetics rather than today. Don’t get surprised; just reaffirm your faith in the age old maxim that appearances are deceptive.

The next best things are not some secondary alternatives to the real things. These are the real things! They are the next generation of superstars. Perhaps the term “generation” would not be applicable here since the world of showbiz seems to lie in another dimension where time moves a lot quicker and a “generation” often passes in a matter of seconds. After all, as everyone knows, fame is fickle! Not so with this talented bunch. Though they might not be household names yet, each and member of this chosen elite has what it takes to make it in the big bad world of showbiz. Their staying power is exemplified by their accomplishments so far - accomplishments which might not have been vast in scale, but were definitely ample in quality. We predict great things for them, and don’t hesitate to tell you that they will soon graduate from being the next best things, to the best of the best.

Three reasons why Abdullah wouldn’t make a good model:[1.] he seems to be the product of non-indigenous genes. [2.] He has a laid back attitude towards PR in modeling. [3.] He sometimes deceives the viewer into thinking that he/she is looking at Farooq Mannan.

Firstly, If people cannot at some level relate to the face they see in the image, they will not buy into the fantasy of whatever he is so alluring advocating. Furthermore, shyly spurning diversification and trading fashion magazines and swanky celebrity soirées for textbooks and motorcycle joyrides is not the way to go about advancing a career hinged on media appearances and keeping up appearances. And finally, fashion is about change: people don’t want to see variations of the same face over and over again.