Happy birthday to Helen
Viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to the veteran Helen on 21st November, 2008. She had been considered as one of the most skilled westernized dancers of bollywood films of all times. Her sheer brilliance in dancing had compelled producers and directors to include her in the scripts of hit films of 60s and 70s, and the dance sequences added variety in the films.
Her successful films include Gumnaam, where she played the role of one of the few persons who were taken to an isolated island. She was killed along with a number her friends by Tarun Bose in the film who was identified by Manoj Kumar at the end of the film. Her dance number in the songs “hum kale hai to kya hua dilwale hai” and “is duniya me jeena ho to” composed by Shankar Jaikishan were brilliant by every judging standards.
She was sublime in her dance no. in the song “muqabla hum se na karo” in the film Prince along with Shammi Kapoor and Vaijayantimala. She did the western part while Vaijayantimala did the eastern part. Whenever she got a scope of performing opposite Shammi Kapoor her performance used to get a different dimension as he was the only male star in the 60s to dominate bollywood films with rock and roll dance performances.
Both of them did well in the film Teesri Manzil. The song “o haseena zulfonwali” is remembered for the dance of both Helen and Shammi Kapoor. Helen got a villainish role in the film and trapped Shammi Kapoor in a murder case where the actual murderer was Prem Nath.
Helen even got few roles of heroines in the 60s including the role in the film Pyar Hi Pyar where she acted opposite Mehmood, where the main roles were played by Dharmender and Vaiyantimala. Her prominent roles continued in the 70s, including her cameo in the song “piya tu ab tu aja” composed by RD Burman in the film Karwa, her role in the film Sholay, where her dance number in the song “mehbooba mehbooba” amazed the viewers.
The villainish roles continued like the one in Big B’s film Don, where her song “yeh mera dil” became a runaway hit.
Her notable films include Mere Jeevan Saathi, Hindustani, Half Ticket, etc. She even acted in character roles in the 90s in films like Akela and Khamoshi. Her performance in the film Khamoshi had been appreciated by all section of viewers. The admirers of Helen expect her to make more contribution in bollywood films in character roles as she has a lot acting still left in her.
