Helen Birthday Special: Coming from Burma, crossing the river of fire, you reached India and settled in the hearts of the people

I must thank with all my heart (a sentiment that comes straight from a heart that dares not lie) the Government of India and all the men and women who decided to confer the Padma Shri on Mrs. Helen Khan, one of the most outstanding women in India. This is an honor bestowed upon a woman who has achieved everything on her own, a woman who has been a dancer without comparison, and a woman who has a heart of gold or something else precious.

Helen is a part of Hindi film history, a name that can never be forgotten by those who have seen her work and a lesson to be learned for those who wish to learn from life, she is a woman who has given more to life than life has given her...

Almost fifty years ago a young girl, half Spanish and half Burmese left Burma where she was born, a country that was fighting the fires of hate all the time and she ran away and came to India without any ambition, without any destination or goal. Little did young Helen know that she had walked down a lane where her future, call it destiny or whatever you want to shape it, the country where she won fame, and fortune and became a legend, a star in her own right, a star that would shine brighter than any star or among many stars, Helen had reached a place where every person's "bhagya" (destiny) was directed by the "vidhaataa" (God), Helen had taken her first steady step. The group dancer, as one of the many other girls dancing around the star dancer, a dancer who used to be the dancing glory of every movie Koyal Kukku, the only dancing star at that time, the highest paid and who it must be said died here in a municipal hospital, homeless, penniless and without care, with no one even to claim her body which was once the center of attraction for millions...

This new Helen with those unusual but alluring and seductive eyes and face and an hourglass figure that moved like magic caught everyone's attention but one special producer, P.N. Arora saw her plight, took her under his wing and helped her dance her way to unexpected success on her own and when she danced in "Howrah Bridge" and sang "Mera Naam Chin Chin Chin" people wanted Helen more and more as she hit the dance floor with a bang. Soon every big film had to have a dance number with Helen as the dancer and no one else, any other star, the most popular stars, there could be any number of them, but a Helen and only one Helen dance number was a must, the filmmakers had to find ways to get Helen to dance in their films because every distributor said, "Yeh sab toh theek hai, lekin Helen kahan hai in this, Helen nahi toh the film mein life nahi" and the audiences also agreed with them.  

Helen was soon the most precious and invaluable 'perfume' of a film, her dances were more graceful and vibrant than those of any other, most of them her own creations according to the demands of the script and the scene. She knew what "they" wanted and gave it to them in double measure. Helen wore the most racy, short and skimpy and revealing clothes and sometimes covered only with feathers and made all kinds of alluring and seductive gestures that would blow men’s spirits away, make their heartbeats reach breaking point and their blood pressure rise to dangerous levels, make them shiver and tremble and feel all kinds of sensations in their bodies, but Helen was never vulgar, never cheap, never did things that crossed the bounds of decency, she gave dignity to even the most erotic and sensual dances and no one and no censor could have any objection to her dancing.

Her popularity as a dancer reached the skies and gave new ideas to her mentor, Mr. Arora, he decided to turn her into the leading lady in movies, but she got roles opposite heroes like Chandrashekhar ("Cha Cha Cha") and Dara Singh ("Aaya Toofan" and other movies), she could not really make it big, only because of her "foreign" looks and her English accent and the way she carried herself and her overall image as a "sexy dancer".

Helen, who was the honorific "Helen ji", now tried to play supporting characters and vampires and was a success, she had the "look" and "colour" that were adopted by men and women alike because she was not the kind of dancer who could spoil the "culture" and "tradition" of the country, she was not a threat to the roots of our culture.

The seventies saw a sudden decline in his successful journey, the only time he sang a sensational song was "Mungra Mungra" sung for Amjad Khan, and "Mehbooba Mehbooba" again for Amjad Khan in "Sholay". These are still considered to be his biggest hits and Helen's dance with him is still fresh in the minds of those who saw them. What happened next seemed almost similar to what happened to Kuku, he realized how his "godfather" was the devil's father who made him squander all his earnings and kept it like his personal possession and even his huge flat at Peddar Road attached by the court receiver was taken away from him.

The same Helen of thousands of hearts now found it difficult to have two meals a day and it was heart-breaking to see her walking from office to office telling film producers that she was Helen, only Helen, and wanted work but no one was listening.

Everything came to an end when love came as a savior. Salim Khan who was a struggling actor when he was a star in "Teesri Manzil" and was always in love with her even though he was now the most successful writer, protected her, accepted her, and married her with the consent of his first wife, Salma and their grown-up children, Salman, Sohail, Arbaaz, and Alvira. She is now Mrs. Helen Salim Khan and is also the "mummy" of Salim Khan and Salma's children.

She went on and play motherly roles in films like "Akyla" and "Khamoshi- The Musical" in which she also showed how well she can still dance. Helen is now eighty years old (incredible) and is at peace with herself and her family and the work she has dedicated her life to.

Helen is a woman who proved what Nari Shakti is and what women really are, honored with all sorts of honours and awards but winning the Padma Shri when even small-time singers don't know what the whole gamut of music is the best thing for Helen and the best way to add meaning to Padma Shri.

Salaam Begum Helen Salim Khan. Salaam to your story. Salaam to your work. Salaam to your success. And salaam to your kindness. Salaam, Salaam, Salaam.

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