India, March 13 -- Water was an ambitious and brave film for John Abraham. At that point in his career, he had been typecast as the beefcake, largely playing roles where he looked a certain way. But the Deepa Mehta film cast him as a simple man in the period setting. The film even made it to the Oscars, and John revealed that he earned praise from Hollywood icons like Steven Spielberg and Charlize Theron. (Also read: 'How much more will you suck the system dry': John Abraham slams actors over inflated fees, 'mental' entourage costs)

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...