Mumbai, Aug 17 (IANS) Hit film "New York" has completed 50 days at the box office and actor John Abraham says the film industry is looking at him differently now - from being termed as expressionless by critics, he is now being praised for emoting on screen.

"Can you beat that... there was so much negativity thrown about me over the years, but I was keeping my head down and continuing to pick the best from what came my way. I'm glad I did 'New York'. It just changed the way filmmakers are looking at me today," John told IANS.

Directed by Kabir Khan, "New York" was the biggest earner of the year before "Kambakkht Ishq" and "Love Aaj Kal" arrived. A clean hit at the box office, this Yash Raj production boasted of critical as well as commercial success.

"The film helped me in a way that today even those people from the industry are calling me who have never done that before. I'm not holding any grudges though... what's the point in doing that?" said John.

With harsh criticism coming someone's way, isn't it natural to have bitterness?

"No, I have actually never been bitter. Instead I have only tried to be as humble as possible, put my head down and work hard. I guess the result is a film like 'New York'. I hope to be doing many more such performance-oriented films. I work for appreciation more than anything else and I guess my time has started now," said John.

Known more for his physicality, courtesy movies like "Dhoom" and the recent "Dostana", it was a welcome shift for John to see critics warming up to his acting abilities.

"What a relief it was...my physicality has been so overpowering but thankfully people looked beyond that in 'New York' and talked about my performance too," said the actor who had earlier impressed audiences in Deepa Mehta's Oscar-nominated "Water".

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