John Abraham reveals Steven Spielberg, Charlize Theron praised his performance in Deepa Mehta’s ‘Water’

Steven Spielberg; John Abraham in a still from ‘Water’
| Photo Credit: REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni and Netflix

Bollywood star John Abraham has said that renowned Hollywood filmmaker Steven Spielberg and Hollywood star Charlize Theron praised him for his performance in filmmaker Deepa Mehta’s 2005 film Water, a recognition he said he didn’t receive from Indian audience.

In an interview to BookMyShow’s YouTube channel, while promoting his upcoming film The Diplomat, John recalled his experience of attending the Academy Awards in 2006, when Mehta’s film was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. “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.”

Interestingly, John had earlier, in a chat with Filmfare, spoken about an important lesson he learnt from Spielberg: “I remember Steven Spielberg’s words when I had attended the Academy Awards during Water. He said, ‘Remember, there are no good and bad actors. There are good and bad films.”

Water was Canada’s official entry to the Oscars in 2006. The film, the final installment of Mehta’s Elements trilogy, told the story of the widows in Varanasi in 1938.

The film was originally set to be made with Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das and Akshay Kumar. However, the shooting of the film came to a halt when protesters vandalised the film set in Varanasi (Mehta was facing backlash for the depiction of a same sex relationship in her previous film, Fire). Water was eventually revived as an Indo-Canadian project, starring Seema Biswas, Lisa Ray, John Abraham and Sarala Kariyawasam. The film was shot in Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, John will be seen next in The Diplomat, directed by Shivam Nair and written by Ritesh Shah. The film, inspired by a true story, follows the journey of an Indian diplomat involved in a high-stakes case. Produced by T-Series, JA Entertainment, Wakaoo Films, and other production houses, The Diplomat is set for a theatrical release on March 14.