Helen Ann Richardson Khan (née Richardson; born 21 November 1938), known mononymously as Helen, is an Indian actress and dancer. She has appeared in over 1000 films,[1] making her a prolific performer in Hindi cinema. In a career spanning 70 years, Helen has received two Filmfare Awards.[1] She is often cited as one of the most popular nautch and caberet dancers of her time.[2] In 2009, Helen was awarded with the Padma Shri by the Government of India.[3][4]
Early life and background
Helen Ann Richardson was born on 21 November 1938 in Rangoon, Burma to an Anglo-Indian father and a Burmese mother.[5] Her father's name was George Desmier and her mother's name was Marlene. She has a brother named Roger and a sister named Jennifer. Their father died during World War II. The family then trekked to Dibrugarh of Assam in 1943 in order to escape from the Japanese occupation of Burma. Helen told Filmfare during an interview in 1964:
...we trekked alternately through wilderness and hundreds of villages, surviving on the generosity of people, for we were penniless, with no food and few clothes. Occasionally, we met British soldiers who provided us with transport, found us refuge and treated our blistered feet and bruised bodies and fed us. By the time we reached Dibrugarh in Assam, our group had been reduced to half. Some had fallen ill and been left behind, some had died of starvation and disease. My mother miscarried along the way. The survivors were admitted to the Dibrugarh hospital for treatment. Mother and I had been virtually reduced to skeletons and my brother's condition was critical. We spent two months in hospital. When we recovered, we moved to Calcutta, and sadly my brother died there due to smallpox".[6]
She quit her schooling to support her family because her mother's salary as a nurse was not enough to feed a family of four.[7] In a documentary called Queen of the Nautch girls, Helen said she was 19 years old in 1958 when she got her first big break in Howrah Bridge.
Career
Helen was introduced to Bollywood (Hindi cinema) when a family friend, an actress known as Cuckoo, helped her find jobs as a group dancer in the films Shabistan (1951) and Awaara (1951). She was soon working regularly and was featured as a solo dancer in films such as Alif Laila (1954) and Hoor-e-Arab (1955). She also featured as Street singer in film Mayurpankh (1954).
She got her major break in 1958, aged 19, when she performed on the song "Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu" in Shakti Samanta's film, Howrah Bridge, which was sung by Geeta Dutt. After that, offers started pouring in throughout the 1960s and 1970s. During her initial career, Geeta Dutt sang many songs for her. In the plot of many of the films of this period, Helen performs a song or dance then is killed, leaving the film's "good woman" available for the hero.[8]
The Bollywood playback singer Asha Bhosle also frequently sang for Helen, particularly during the 1960s and the early 1970s. She was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1965 for her role as Kitty Kelly in Gumnaam. She played dramatic roles in films like China Town and Sachaai (1969) starring Shammi Kapoor which went on to be very successful at the box office. She also played a sensitive character in the film Chhote Sarkar (1974) starring Shammi Kapoor and Sadhana. With Shammi Kapoor, she did many hit dance numbers like 'Suku Suku' in Junglee, ' Yamma Yamma' in China Town, 'O Haseena Zulfonwali' in Teesri Manzil (1966), 'Hai Pyar Ka Hi Naam' in Singapore, and 'Muqabla Humse Na Karo' in Prince (1969).
Helen was selected for the Padma Shri awards of 2009 along with Aishwarya Rai and Akshay Kumar. She appeared as a judge in the semifinals and finals of India's 2009 Dancing Queen television series.
Helen's first marriage was in 1957 to film director Prem Narayan Arora of Dil Daulat Duniya fame, who was 27 years older than her. She divorced him in 1974.[citation needed] In 1981, Helen married Salim Khan, a prominent Bollywood screenplay writer. Khan was already married and the father of four children; Helen joined the Khan family and had a large role (along with Khan and his first wife Salma) in keeping the family united. All of Helen's step-children have bonded closely with her, and Helen is almost invariably accompanied in public appearances by Salma Khan, Salim's first wife. She has adopted a daughter, Arpita Khan. Helen is a Christian.[11]
^Basu, Anustup (2013), ""The Face that Launched a Thousand Ships": Helen and Public Femininity in Hindi Film", in Sen, Meheli; Basu, Anustup (eds.), Figurations in Indian Film, New York City: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 139–157, ISBN978-1-349-33209-0
