17 Jan - Malaysian director, Afdlin Shauki is head over heels for his family drama "Appalam", which had won the Best Film Award at the 1st Malaysian Indian Film Festival 2012, which was held in Chennai, India recently. Released in 2010, "Appalam" defeated a number of outstanding nominees that included, "Undercover Rascals", "Uttrachai Kali", "Aathma", "Ethirkaalam", "Aandal", "Uruvam", "Panjamuni", "Manjari" and "Yantra", to emerge as a winner at the event. The main actor of the Tamil film had also won the Best Actor Award for his performance in his other movie, "Aathma & Manjari", at the same event. Adapting from "Papadom", Tayangan Unggul's "Appalam" emphasizes the lives of the Indian community in Malaysia including their culture and tradition. The movie starred Gana Pragasam, who played Appalasamy, a devoted father who purposely works as a gardener just to keep an eye on his daughter, Shruti (Raja Ilya), who is running away from his constant control of her life by furthering her studies in Kuala Lumpur. The movie also stars Malaysian Idol winner, Jaclyn Victor. "Appalam" grabbed the Best Film and Best Actress Awards at the Malaysian Tamil Awards last year.