Every Bollywood fan knows about Helen. Even though she is not very active now in the film industry, her dance numbers continue to be a big hit among young and old people. But life has not been easy for this beauty that started her career at the young age of 13 years. Even though she has managed to carve a niche for herself in this vast film industry, there have been lots of ups and downs in her career which she very rarely has discussed openly.
As she turns a year older today, here’s an insight into the life of the cabaret queen of India.
From starvation to big break in Bollywood movies
Born as Helen Ann Richardson to a Burmese mother and an Anglo-Indian father, the famous dancer had to face sickness and starvation at a very early age due to financial problems as her family shifted from Burma to India. Situations forced her to leave schooling and start working when she was just a teenager.
She started as a background dancer at the age of 13 years with Raj Kapoor’s movie Awara and got her first big break in Bollywood with Howrah Bridge. The song “Mera naam chin chin chu” made her a popular face among the audience. But there was a long way to go.
Personally, she was very lonely and needed companionship. She fell in love with N.P Arora a producer of B-grade movies who was 27 years older than her. But he was the wrong person to be in a relationship and in 1974; bankrupt and heartbroken Helen broke all her ties with him. Arora had swindled all the money of Helen and she was in a very desperate situation. She even lost her house to the bank as she could not pay the mortgage.
Marriage with Salim Khan gave her the stability Helen was looking for
During the 70s, Helen’s struggle started once again as she was aging and no one wanted to cast an old item girl. However, Salim Khan who has been her best friend all through her journey in Bollywood helped her out. He married Helen despite having married to Salma with whom he had four children. He even helped her get good movies that were big hits at that time.
While it was a new lease of life for Helen, Salma and the children did not accept this marriage initially. However, over the years, they have developed a good bond and now every member of the family considers Helen as one of them.
In between, Helen adopted a girl child Arpita who is now the favourite sister of Salman Khan and his brothers. Today Arpita is happily married and a mother of two children.