The Top 5 Faces of 2016

1. Edhi

The meek and the mighty were united in mourning the passing away of Pakistan’s beloved philanthropist and the founder of this country’s largest public welfare network in July. The ascetic humanitarian who sought minimal fanfare during his life, was honoured with a grand state funeral – the first in a quarter of a century.

2. Momina Mustehsan

Stunning Mustehsan broke a million hearts when it was revealed that the Coke Studio debutante was engaged. Apart from the sensational voice and drop dead gorgeousness, she hit it for a six in her reply to a troll who tried to rain on her parade by comparing her looks to those of his maid. Her hashtag #RespectAll won the day. Well played, Mustehsan!

3. Qandeel Baloch

She shot to a short-lived, but heady tryst with fame when she sent a pouty and sensuous marriage proposal to Imran Khan and offered to ‘strip dance’ for the cricket team. As in life, so in death, the sassy 26-year-old YouTube star sparked a final media circus and set off polarised reactions when she was found murdered in her Multan home, purportedly killed by her brother.

4. Chai waala Arshad Khan

As smokin’ hot Islamabad chai waala Arshad Khan stared into a camera... the internet crashed. A quick haircut later, blue-eyed Khan found himself in the eye of a media storm as he was whisked from a content-starved morning show to modelling contract signing. The man experienced more in his rags-to-riches week than most people do in a lifetime.

5. Amjad Sabri

Legendary qawwal, Amjad Sabri’s blooded murder on Karachi’s streets threw a spotlight on the vulnerability of public personalities in a lawless land. Poignant scenes followed as disbelieving crowds attended the funeral of the man who had modernised qawwali and made it relevant again. TV channels went into overdrive replaying his last naat, recorded the night before, that described scenes from the grave. Strangely prescient.

Shahrezad Samiuddin is a pop culture junkie and a scriptwriter. shahrezadsamiuddin@yahoo.com