Aamir Khan has won the prestigious 11th Gollapudi Srinivas Memorial award for his directorial debut Taare Zameen Par. Legendary actor Kamal Hassan announced this in a press conference held here on Sunday. The Chennai based Gollapudi Srinivas Memorial award has become one of the most coveted awards in the film industry over the years.

Aamir for his work in Taare Zameen Par was the unanimous choice from 19 nominations by a panel of judges- noted director Singeetham Sreenavasa Rao, former director of Federation of Film Society Kalyanaraman and Gollapudi Maruthi Rao.

Announcing the award winner, Kamal Haasan said, "Aamir is the unanimous choice for this award. As a popular star, why a star, a Superstar in Bollywood, he could have chosen any theme that could have been boosting to his image. But he underplayed himself and proved his passion towards the industry. For your information Aamir worked four years as assistant director before making his own film."

Kamal's friend and one of the panel member Singeetham Srinivasa Rao said: "Casting is one of the responsibilities of the director. The boy, who is cast as the eight year old, is perfect for the role and the credits goes to the director naturally."

Taare Zameen Par is the first Hindi film to win the award since its inception 11 years ago. The winner gets a cash prize of Rs.1.5 lakh and a memento at the award ceremony, to be held on August 12.

The award has been instituted in memory of Gollapudi Srinivas, who accidentally drowned in the sea when he was making his debut film at the age of 26. His father Gollapudi Maruthi Rao running the trust in the name of his son and gives away the award every year.