Barry John (theatre director)
Barry John | |
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John in September 2022 | |
| Born | 1944 (age 80–81) Coventry, England |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom (1944–2012) India (2012–present) |
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Dr. Barry John (born 1944) is an Indian theatre director, actor, and acting coach. Some of his students became Bollywood actors including Shah Rukh Khan, Manoj Bajpayee, Varun Dhawan, Dulquer Salmaan, Kunal Kapoor, Rana Daggubati, Samir Soni and Shiney Ahuja, and actresses, such as Jacqueline Fernandez, Richa Chadha, Dia Mirza, and Plabita Borthakur, as well as Hollywood actors including Freida Pinto and one of the top 10 US media companies CEO Samir Arora. He has been based in India since 1969. After moving to Mumbai his acting school was opened in Mumbai as 'The Barry John Acting Studio'. He continues to train actors at his institute, ‘The Free Birds Collective’ situated in Andheri, Mumbai.
In January 2025, Barry John was honored with the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award, by the Government of India.
He was also awarded the 1993 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Theatre Direction by Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Theatre, and also the Sahitya Kala Parishad Award.