- Born
- Birth nameHelen Jairag Richardson
- Nickname
- Queen of the Nautch Girls
- Height5′ 5½″ (1.66 m)
- Helen was born in Burma to an Anglo Indian father named George Desmier and a Burmese mother named Marlene. Her father went missing during the Second World War. Her family migrated to India in 1942 as refugees in order to escape from the Japanese invasion of Burma. Helen was introduced to Bollywood in 1953 by the famous dancer Cuckoo. She got her break in 1958 when she performed the song 'Mera Naam Chin Chin Choo' in the movie Howrah Bridge. Helen rarely got roles as the lead heroine in movies. So, she opted dancing which proved to be her fortune. Throughout the 1960's, 1970's to 1985, she danced in more than 600 movies establishing herself as a prolific dancer. Her best performances are in films Pipili Saheb, Naya Aadmi, Halaku, Yahudi, Howrah Bridge, Uttamputhiran in Tamil, Bedard Zamana Kya Jane ,Sri Valli in Tamil, Hum Hindustani, Half Ticket, Hongkong, China Town, Woh Kaun Thi, Gumnaam, Kaajal, Jewel Theif, Yakeen, The Train, Caravan, Sange Muzhangu in Tamil, Zakhmee, Mere Jeevan Saathi, Ginny Aur Jhonny, Bairaag, Deewangee, Khel Khilari Ka, Inkaar, Don, Inteqaam, Kab Kyun Aur Kahan, Pagla Kahin Ka, Apradh, Mere Jeevan Saathi , Dil Daulat Duniya,Lahu Ke Do Rang, Shararat, Khamoshi, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Her last few films for which danced Cabaret were Sawaal in 1982 and Pakhandee in 1984.
She was known for wearing different colors of wigs, contact lenses and skimpy outfits in her movies. In the late 1970's, her demand started diminishing because of her age along with the entry of younger dancers like Padma Khanna, Jayshree T, Bindu, Aruna Irani and Kalpana Iyer. In 1979, she won the best supporting actress award for her role as Vinod Khanna's Chinese wife in 'Lahu Ke Do Rang'. She officially retired from movies in 1984. She was married to director Prem Narayan Arora from 1957 to 1972 and she divorced him and later married screenwriter Salim Khan in 1981.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Sidd
- SpousesSalim Khan(1981 - present) (1 child)Prem Narayan Arora(1957 - 1974) (divorced)
- ChildrenArpita Khan
- Her cat-like eyes
- Her wide smile and hips
- Auburn hair
- Had an English stepfather who also died in the Second World War.
- Salman Khan's stepmother.
- Hindi top star in the 50s and 60s, very famous for playing vamps
- Three books were written on her dance career along with a documentary called 'Helen Queen of the Nautch girls' which was released in 1973 by Merchant Ivory Productions.
- Was a sex symbol in the 1960s and 1970s and was referred to as the H-Bomb in movie magazines.
- I could never walk on the streets. I had to wear a veil. They used to go berserk when they saw me.
- [on Helen's deadly trek to India from Burma during World War] 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.
- I was dancing in those daring outfits right until the age of 46. Today's girls are out by the time they're thirty.
- Am blessed to have had Ashaji and Lataji singing so many songs for me. Geeta Dutt songs gave me the fame initially. Credit to the music directors is a must. Every composer has composed music for the songs sung by me. I need to mention obviously the greatest musicians like O.P.Nayyar, Salil Chowdhry, S.D.Burman, Shankar Jaikishen, Kalyanji Anandji, R.D.Burman, Laxmikant Pyarelal in Hindi and M.S.Viswanathan in Tamil films I did. I enjoyed dancing alongside stalwarts Padmini and Vyjanthimala.It was my passion for dancing that i could dance in films right from the age of 15 in 1954 to 46 in 1985 continuously.
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