After a years-long struggle with censors, a film adaptation of Malaysian postmodern dark comedy Spilt Gravy on Rice has debuted on Netflix and won awards at home.

“It’s, of course, a major relief after so many years of feeling like I was on a very slow roller-coaster ride,” Zahim Albakri, the director of Spilt Gravy on Rice (Ke Mana Tumpahnya Kuah in Malay), tells the Post.

His film is an adaptation of the award-winning play of the same name by the late Jit Murad. The play was first staged in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, in August 2002 and played to full houses and critical acclaim in the city and nearby Singapore in 2003.