/> If Anupam Kher thought he only had Subhash Ghai's Whistling Woods to contend with here's more food for 'taught'.

Delhi's acting guru Barry John opened an acting school in Mumbai recently. Barry, known as the grand old man of acting instructions has coached, among others, Shah Rukh Khan, Manoj Bajpai and Sushant Singh.

Barry John's entry into the acting arena in Bollywood has apparently given jostling room to the jitters for Kher and Ghai's acting schools. At his inaugural speech Barry took an apparent potshot at Anupam by saying he wasn't going to be an absentee acting instructor.

But Anupam, currently busy with the recently-opened Chandigarh branch of his school is far from daunted.

"Did Barry really say that? I'm sure he didn't mean me. It's true my acting and other pursuits take me away from my first love—teaching acting. But I spend the maximum time with and in this school. We welcome the competition from Barry as we did from Mr Ghai."

It's said Anupam's long-standing relationship with Ghai went for a toss the minute the two got busy supervising the running of acting schools.

"Not the least," shrugs Anupam. "I've done so many films with Mr Ghai. We cannot become competitors. Unke thappad ki goonj abhi tak mere kaan mein baj rahi hai, " Anupam draws attention to his infamous Dr Dang (slapped by Dilip Kumar) in Ghai's Karma.

Pausing with the chuckles Anupam laughs, "We should welcome more and more acting schools run by people who know the craft and can get the right teachers."

The next big move for Anupam's acting school is a course entitled Change Within. "This is a personality- development and orientation course, open not just to actors but anyone who needs to connect with his or her true personality."

Teachers from Anupam's school are now being coached in instructing students for this unique subject.

Anupam says he wants to be remembered by his school rather than his screen performances. "Fifty years from now I want people to look at the proud products of my school. And I hope Mr Ghai and Mr John will also have reason to be equally proud of their students. This industry needs at least a 100 new talent. "