Helen

Helen Ann Richardson Khan (née Richardson; born 21 November 1938), known mononymously as Helen, is an Indian actress and dancer. She has appeared in over 1000 films, making her a prolific performer in Hindi cinema. She is known for her supporting, character roles and guest appearances in a career spanning 70 years. Helen has received two Filmfare Awards, and is often cited as one of the most popular nautch dancers of her time. In 2009, Helen was awarded with the Padma Shri by the Government of India. She was the inspiration for four films and a book. Early life and background Helen Ann Richardson was born on 21 November 1938 in Rangoon, Burma to an Anglo-Indian father and a Burmese mother. Her father's name was George Desmier and her mother's name was Marlene. She has a brother named Roger and a sister named Jennifer. Their father died during World War II. The family then trekked to Dibrugarh of Assam in 1943 in order to escape from the Japanese occupation of Burma. Helen told Filmfare during an interview in 1964: ...we trekked alternately through wilderness and hundreds of villages, surviving on the generosity of people, for we were penniless, with no food and few clothes. Occasionally, we met British soldiers who provided us with transport, found us refuge and treated our blistered feet and bruised bodies and fed us. By the time we reached Dibrugarh in Assam, our group had been reduced to half. Some had fallen ill and been left behind, some had died of starvation and disease. My mother miscarried along the way. The survivors were admitted to the Dibrugarh hospital for treatment. 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, and sadly my brother died there due to smallpox". She quit her schooling to support her family because her mother's salary as a nurse was not enough to feed a family of four. In a documentary called Queen of the Nautch girls, Helen said she was 19 years old in 1958 when she got her first big break in Howrah Bridge. Career Helen was introduced to Bollywood (Hindi cinema) when a family friend, an actress known as Cuckoo, helped her find jobs as a group dancer in the films Shabistan (1951) and Awaara (1951). She was soon working regularly and was featured as a solo dancer in films such as Alif Laila (1954) and Hoor-e-Arab (1955). She also featured as Street singer in film Mayurpankh (1954).