While his students went on to make careers in the movies, Barry himself did not get too many opportunities.
"I was only called for colonial characters, and I was sick of doing stiff upper lip roles," Barry explains. "Massey Sahib was a good role. It was an unconventional British character. Tamas was a good experience. I had a minor role in Gandhi but not one of the best. But I never struggled to be in the movies."
Besides, Barry says, he wasn't comfortable in the filmi setup. "Actors are treated with more respect in theatre than they are in films. Actors sometimes get the scripts on the day of the shoot, so there is little allowance for them to think about their characters. They're treated like props!" he exclaims.
But though Barry has mostly shunned Bollywood thus far, he recently shifted to the city of dreams.
"We were a commercial building in a residential area in Delhi. So we were faced with a threat vis-a-vis the ceiling policy that the Delhi government has undertaken. So we thought it was wise to move out. We decided to move to Mumbai," Barry explains.
"We had thought of this many years ago. If we had moved then, it would have been a better idea. We thought the (real estate) prices were exorbitant then but they're worse now! We made a mistake on that account, coming at a time when prices have soared," Barry says.
In the picture: Students rehearsing for a Barry John play
Also read: A photograph and two films
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