Hollywood filmmaker Steven Spielberg had praised John Abraham’s performance in Deepa Mehta’s 2005 drama Water at the 2006 Academy Awards, the Indian actor said in a recent interview.

Water was nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 2006 Oscars.

"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," recalled John in the fifth episode of podcast BookMyShow Unscripted.

"I remember Charlize Theron talking to me and saying that she loved what I was processing, but no one here talked about that,” he added.

Though the film did not win the trophy, the 52-year-old actor acknowledged the depth of the narrative. He also mentioned that he would want the film to be re-released in India because it received limited screenings at the time. John noted at that time fans in India associated him with commercial films and his chiselled physique.

Penned by Anurag Kashyap, Water is set in 1938 and explores the lives of widows in an ashram in India. The film is also the third and final instalment of Deepa Mehta's Elements trilogy. It was preceded by Fire (1996) and Earth (1998).

In 2008, Dilip Mehta wrote and directed a documentary, The Forgotten Woman, about widows in India. The documentary was inspired by Water.

On the work front, John is currently awaiting the release of Shivam Nair’s upcoming political action thriller The Diplomat, set to hit screens on Holi. The film also stars Sadia Khateeb, Kumud Mishra, Sharib Hashmi and Revathy in key roles.