It is hard to believe there was ever a time in Hindi cinema when the nimble-footed Helen was not dancing her way into the audience’s hearts. The entire nation swayed to her perfect dance steps. For well over three decades, Helen was the queen of the dance floor in Hindi films. One cabaret item by her meant a discernible change in the price, quality and visibility of an average potboiler of the 1960s and 70s.
Happy Birthday Helen: The dancing queen said in a throwback interview, “You cannot undo your past. Now, I’m happy and contented”
From the mid-1980s onwards Helen led a reclusive life, away from the limelight, content and at peace as part of writer Salim Khan’s extended family. Of late, there has been a huge revival of interest in Helen’s art. Tributes to her nimble and elegant dancing abilities have become almost politically correct. The softspoken and delicate Helen seems pretty detached from the adulation that seems to be coming her way.
In a throwback interview Helen spoke at length on her journey. “I had performing roles in films like Talaash, Lahu Ke Do Rang and Imaan Dharam,” she said. “You’re right when you say the performing roles came late my way. But I believe in destiny. I was never an ambitious go-getter. I took whatever came my way in the belief that what came my way was meant for me, what didn’t wasn’t meant for me. I’ve followed that philosophy throughout my life. Maybe I’m wrong to take such a fatalistic view of life and its opportunities. But by thinking this way I feel more at peace with myself.”
Speaking of her turbulent life, Helen expressed no regrets. “I would say I had a full life,” she said. “See, no two lives are the same. And my experiences, good or bad, were mine. As you grow old or as they say in China as you grow young, you look at all of life’s experiences as opportunities to make yourself a better human being. Jo hona tha so ho gaya. It’s no use regretting what’s happened. I believe in living for the day. We’ve a Roman Catholic hymn, ‘One Day At Time, Sweet Jesus, One Day At A Time’. I believe in that hymn completely. You cannot undo your past. Now, I’m happy and contented, emotionally and financially. In life emotional fulfilment is what counts the most.”
Helen added, “My family and I were refugees from Burma. My mother was a nurse working in a private nursing home. I used to go to school. But I had to drop out before my matriculation. I must have been 12 when I joined the movies due to financial hardships in the family. My mother put me in a dancing school where I learnt a bit of Manipuri and Kathak. But to a certain extent, dancing was a gift from God. I began as a chorus dancer in a film entitled Shabistan. Cuckooji was a craze in those days. We were family friends. My mother asked Cuckooji to get me a place in the chorus line, and I did. I must have been a chorus dancer for a year before I was selected to dance for a film called Badnaam starring Balraj Sahni and Shyama. I got a duet with a boy called Harbans who was a chorus dancer like me. My first solo dance was in a film called Alif Laila.”
When Helen came into the movies there was no cabaret. “Let me tell you, when I came into films there was no cabaret dancing in our films,” she said. “There used to be Arabian fantasies and mythology-related classical dancing in that ‘Amrapali’ costume. There was also a bit of folk dancing. When I did a film called Baarish starring Dev Saab and Nutanji, for the first time I did what was then called nightclub dancing.”
Helen added, “Cabarets, as they later came to be known, weren’t meant to be cheap at all. If you go abroad, you can see how elaborate and posh the cabarets are. Every cabaret performance is like a story told through song and dance. Jaisa ki aapne mera cabaret film Inteqam mein dekha hoga. ‘Aa jaan-e-jaan’ was Lataji’s first cabaret song. In the back-and-white era, Lataji sang a number of songs for me in films like Parasmani. Later, she also sang that hit number ‘Kitty Kelly’ for me in Gumnaam. Of course, Ashaji took over my singing, and I must say she did a wonderful job of it. I think I was lucky to be dancing past 30. Nowadays the heroines retire much before that.”
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