Updated May 31, 2023
Biography of Helen Richardson Khan
Helen Richardson, also known as just Helen, is an Indian dancer and actress of Burmese descent who works in Hindi cinema. She was born Helen Anne Richardson on November 21, 1938. She has appeared in over 700 films, received two Filmfare Awards, and is the most well-known nautch dancer. She served as the model for four motion pictures and a book. She is Salim Khan’s second wife, a seasoned writer, and a producer.
Early Life
A British Indian father and a Burmese mother gave birth to Helen Anne Richardson on November 21, 1938, in Rangoon, Burma. George Desmier was the name of her father. She has a sister called Jennifer and a brother called Roger.
WWII saw the death of their father. The family then made the journey by foot to Mumbai in 1943 to flee the Japanese takeover of Burma. She dropped out of school to support her parents because her mother’s nursing wage was insufficient to cater to a family of four. Helen stated that she was 19 in 1957 and received her first significant break in Howrah Bridge in the documentary Queen of the Nautch Girls.
Career of Helen Richardson
A family friend named Cukoo, an actress, introduced Helen to Bollywood by helping her land roles as a backup dancer in the movie Shabistan as well as Awara (1951). She soon had a regular job and appeared as a soloist dancer in films like Hoor-e-Arab and Alif Laila (1955).
When she was 19, Geeta Dutt’s single “Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu” from Shakti Samanta’s movie Howrah Bridge gave her a big break. After that, during the 1960s and 1970s, offers began to flood. Geeta Dutt performed many songs for her at the beginning of her career.
Asha Bhosle, a Bollywood playback singer, frequently performed for Helen, especially in the 1960s and the first few years of the 1970s. For her work in Gumnaam, she received a Filmfare Best Supporting Actress nomination in 1965. She acted in tragic roles, like the victim of rape in Pagla Kahin Ka by Shakti Samanta (1970).
She appeared as a supporting actress in Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar’s films Imaan Dharam, Don, Dostana, and Sholay. She then starred in Mahesh Bhatt’s 1979 film Lahu Ke Do Rang, earning a Filmfare nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Helen received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999.
Despite her 1983 declaration of retirement from acting, Helen has since made a few guest appearances in films, including Khamoshi: The Musical (1996) and Mohabbatein (2000). In the movie Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, she additionally made a memorable cameo as the mother of Salman Khan’s fictional stepson. In 2006, she also made an appearance in Humko Deewana Kar Gaye. Helen has opted for the 2009 Padma Shri award alongside Aishwarya Rai and Akshay Kumar.
Personal Life
Helen wed Salim Khan, a well-known Bollywood screenwriter, in 1981. Khan had four children and was already married. Helen embraced the Khan home and played a significant part in maintaining the family’s stability alongside Khan and his previous wife, Salma. Helen’s stepchildren have formed close relationships with her, and Salma Khan, Salim’s first wife, nearly always joins Helen for public events. Christian is Helen.
Arpita, a baby girl, was adopted by Helen and Khan in the late 1980s. Arpita Khan was the offspring of a homeless woman who tragically passed away on a Mumbai sidewalk due to an accident.
When Khan stumbled across this infant and noticed her in tears, he took her home to care for her. Arpita grew up alongside her three parents, three brothers, and one older sister in the Khan family. After completing her education at the London School of Fashion, she returned to Mumbai to work for an interior design company.
Arpita wed Delhi-based businessman Aayush Sharma on November 18, 2014; he is the grandson of former government cabinet minister Sukh Ram and the child of Anil Sharma, a minister in the Himachal Pradesh government. The wedding date coincides with the 50th wedding anniversary of Salim Khan and his previous wife, Salma.
Non-Acting Career
She gave theatre performances in Hong Kong, Paris, and London. A 30-minute documentary film, Helen, Queen of the Nautch Girls from Merchant Ivory Films, was released in 1973. The movie’s director and narrator were Anthony Korner. Jerry Pinto released a book on Helen in 2006 entitled. The Life and Times of an H-Bomb, winning the National Film Award for Best Book on Movies in 2007.
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