John Abraham says Steven Spielberg, Charlize Theron loved his performance in Water

Water film was an ambitious project for John Abraham. At that point in his career, he had been typecast largely for playing roles where he looked a certain way. But the Deepa Mehta film casted and showed him as a simple man. The film even made it to the Oscars, and John revealed that he earned praise from Hollywood icons like Steven Spielberg and Charlize Theron.

In conversation with BookMyShow's YouTube channel, John spoke about how he struggles to get compliments for his performance in India, but has received them overseas. Water, his 2005 film, was nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category. John was one of the leads, alongside Lisa Ray and Seena Biswas. Recalling the time they went to the Academy Awards that year, John said, “When I went to the awards, I had the honour of meeting Steven Spielberg, and he loved my performance in Water, whereas no one here even saw it for a day. I remember Charlize Theron talking to me and saying that. I loved what you were processing, but no one here talked about that.”

The film premiered at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival, where it was honoured with the Opening Night Gala. It was belatedly released in India in 2007. Water was Canada's official entry to the Oscars in 2006.

READ HERE: My career has been built on criticism, I enjoy it: John Abraham