Helen (Actress)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Helen

• Does Helen smoke?: No

• Does Helen drink alcohol?: Not Known

• Helen was born to an Anglo-Indian father and Burmese mother.

• After the demise of her father during the World War II, her family migrated to Mumbai in 1943.

• Due to her family’s financial crisis, she quit her schooling to support them.

• She initially learned the Manipuri dance style, and later learned Bharat Natyam and Kathak from P. L. Raj.

• She was the one who introduced cabaret dance or item dance in Bollywood films.

• With the help of a family friend, she started her career as a dancer in the chorus in Shabista in 1951. And, after working as a chorus girl for a couple of years, she got her breakthrough as a solo dancer in the film Alif Laila (1953).

• She became a dancing sensation with the song Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu in the film Howrah Bridge (1958).

• Due to her popularity in the 60s and the 70s, she was often referred as ‘H-Bomb’.

• Her first film as a non-dancer was Hum Hindustani (1960).

• In 1973, 3 books along with a 30-minute documentary called ‘Helen Queen of the Nautch girls’ were released by Merchant Ivory Productions.

• She was initially married to Bollywood director P.N Arora (27 years older to her), but left him in 1974 as he used to spent her money without her consent. She even became a bankrupt and her apartment was seized during this period.

• She met Salim Khan in 1962 on the sets of the film Kabli Khan. And 19 years later,  in 1981, she became his second wife.