The lady who put Kareena to shame
Meet Helen Richardson Khan, better known as Helen, the actress who changed the entire scenario of dance in Hindi cinema from the early '50s to the late '70s to emerge many years later as a character actress in few chosen films. From an item number, then known as a 'cabaret', Helen raised the standard of sizzling dance numbers performed in nightclubs or as the repentant vamp in many Hindi films.
She transformed this dance into an art and gave it a definite and respectable identity because, despite those scintillating gyrations in skimpy costumes, Helen exuded extreme sensuality and sex appeal without appearing either vulgar or obscene. She remained the queen of the cabaret in cinema for two decades. Neither Kareena Kapoor, who duplicated her famous Yeh Mera Dil in Don, nor Urmila Matondkar, who attempted to sizzle in the Mehbooba Mehbooba number in RGV's Aag could hold a candle to the original Helen numbers in Don and Sholay. Today, the hourglass figure has put on pounds and those beautiful eyes are veiled in gold-rimmed spectacles. Helen presents a picture of grace, dignity and humility.
In Kolkata for a couple of days to preside as a judge at a dance contest, Helen agreed to retrace her footsteps When asked about her gutsy and sleazy dance numbers, all we get from the lady is a shy smile…
Excerpts from an interview:
Let us hear it from the beginning…
I was born in Burma, now Myanmar, to a Burmese mother and Anglo-Indian father. My mother was a nurse and when we migrated to Mumbai, we discovered that it was difficult to maintain the family on her earnings alone. The famous dancing star Cuckoo was a family friend. She introduced me as a chorus line dancer in Shabista (1951). After being a chorus girl in many films, I finally landed my initial solo dance numbers in Alif Laila (1953) and Hoor-e-Arab (1955).
But the turning point came with the Mera Naam Chin Chin Choo number in Shakti Samanta's Howrah Bridge in 1958. O.P. Nayyar's brilliant music gave the song the zing that it demanded. Actually, I had to quit school to work in films.
Same here. Why drag kareena in this muck. Keep it clean and praise helen for all the goodness and beauty she was... Kareena is probably good in her own might (she is an actress afterall, trying to dance, and god knows what had happened to those yester year role bits where helen had acted :d)
Good article...... But, i am unable to understand the heading of the topic! In what way is this related to kareena?!
There is no doubt that helen is the best dancer that bollywood can ever get.