Back in the Seventies, the H-bomb – as Helen was known – opened her heart out to Cine Blitz about her mischievous childhood, taking responsibility for her family and being a star at 16…

The early tough years

“Within the four walls of our tiny, dilapidated one-room tenement, laughter and song echoed, throughout our poverty-stricken lives. The hardships, which might have swamped any other family, did not kill the little joys that came our way.”

I was so mischievous that even until the age of 18 I got a hiding!

That’s how Helen describes her childhood. At the age of 10, Helen was practically a mother to her baby sister Jenny and brother Roger! Everyday her mother, a nurse, would leave early for work, leaving the home in the care of young Helen, who was scarcely a child herself. Even in the middle of her games, she would race back home, prepare the baby’s feed, tuck the bottle into Jenny’s mouth and race back to her games. She recalls never getting along with her brother, though. “I resented the fact that he was my mother’s favourite, and would always have his way (wrong or right) with her. He had a very delicate nose, so every time he would complain about me, I’d punch him on the nose and it would bleed. But he’d make sure I got a thrashing by showing a blood-stained shirt to Mother when she got back. I was so mischievous that even until the age of 18 I got a hiding!” chuckled the Anglo-Burmese beauty.

She recalls pinching patties and pastries from the Mac Ronells kitchen to feast on with friends in the graveyard of all places, and their daily play time at Bandstand, and yes, her first love. “I first fell in love at 14. But the only time I could meet him was under the pretext of going to church. I’d tell my mum; I’m going for a visit, just step in, say hello to Jesus and the next 15 minutes, I’d be saying hello to my boyfriend. But I barely remember even holding his hand. Those days, we’d get electric shocks with just standing near each other.”

Life was tough and she left school at 12 to learn dancing. Not surprisingly, she never really liked it. She would detest the long hours of practice but the cane in her mother’s hand ensured she kept at it. She trained under Miss Rati Bhappo and specialised in the Manipuri and Kathak.

I first fell in love at 14. I could only meet him under the pretext of going to church. Those days, we’d get electric shocks with just standing near each other.

When not dancing or playing she would be scrubbing the house down in order to win her mother’s smile. Having missed out on the love of a father – he died during World War II – she admits that she has a father complex and is “always looking for a father image in my relationships.”

Ousting the competition

Work beckoned, not out of choice, but the sheer necessity of having to provide for her family. Helen’s mother requested her good friend Cuckoo, a leading dancer of the time, to help Helen get some work. Soon, offers came and Helen became a chorus dancer. Gradually she gained a firmer footing and took over from Cuckoo. There was a fallout of sorts and the two were no longer on talking terms for some time.

At the time, Cuckoo spoke about how she disliked the manner in which Helen’s mother passed rude remarks such as, ‘What is Cuckoo in front of my daughter? Helen can twist her on her little finger.’ The older dancer naturally found this in very bad taste. What’s more, when Cuckoo supposedly called up Helen, the voice at the other end of the line answered that there was no one by that name staying there… “Perhaps Helen thought I was calling for help and so avoided me,” rued Cuckoo.

“You’ll never hear helen criticise anything or anyone; she bears no grudges – not even against the man who made quite a mess of her life.”

Helen however claimed that this incident wasn’t true. She added that could never forget Cuckoo and would very willingly help her at any time. However, she didn’t want her to feel that she was being condescending and giving charity. “After all, every human being has her ego.  If I help Cuckoo, I’ll never let her know it’s from me.”

Love Galore

It is entirely to Helen’s credit, that friends who knew her from the time she was a nobody, vouch that neither fame nor fortune changed her. “Helen still remembers her old friends, and despite the fact that she is hard-pressed for time in this hectic profession, she somehow makes it a point to visit us. At the most, she will breeze in and say, ‘I came just in case you’d forget me’,” shared an old friend.

Another friend revealed, “She enjoys being with people, and is genuinely interested in them. With the kind of profession she is in, and always getting attention from the world around her, Helen should rightly have been a very self-centered person. But when she comes home, she mixes with everyone so beautifully, that people forget she’s a film star.”
Of special note is her open, uninhibited laughter. “She laughs a great deal, and it’s so infectious that within a few seconds it spreads like a warming fire, and everybody’s laughing with her,” shared yet another friend.

One thing Helen would do from day to day is to pray 

All unanimously declare that looking at Helen, no one would guess the tribulations she had been through. “It’s difficult to talk of Helen’s dislikes, because she’s the kind who’s always commenting on the good in people,” commented a friend. “You’ll never hear her criticise anything or anyone; she bears no grudges – not even against the man who made quite a mess of her life.”

“She is not someone who likes gadding about, and having a good time,” another added. “A very submissive person, if she gets the kind of man she wants, Helen will willingly sit at home and tend to household chores, if he demands it of her.” Evidently, the one thing she would do from day to day, and from minute to minute at every step, is to pray for everything to turn out right. She believes that there is no weapon more powerful than prayer. Not exactly what one would expect from the gal who set the screen aflame with ‘Piya tu ab toh aaja…’, right?

Happy Birthday Helen !