Thursday, October 4, 2018
Helen was indispensable in 1950s, 1960s, 1970s
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Happy birthday to Helen.
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Happy birthday to Helen.
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Happy birthday to Helen.
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Happy birthday to Helen.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Happy birthday to Helen.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Manoj Kumar was sublime in horror thriller Gumnaam.
Manoj Kumar, Nanda in Gumnaam
The film Gumnaam was the eighth biggest blockbuster of bollywood films of 1965. The film was directed by Raja Nawathe. The music of the film was composed by Shankar Jaikishan and the music created havoc.
Manoj Kumar and Nanda were excellent in their roles. The film was based on the horror story of Agatha Christie titled “And then there were none”.
In the film Tarun Bose was a criminal who called up seven persons to an unknown island in a chartered flight to take revenge on the act of the uncle of Nanda. He cheated Tarun Bose, send him in prison and did not give him his share of smuggled money. It was not possible for anyone of the them to swim across the sea to reach Mumbai back. Tarun Bose killed Madan Puri, Manmohan, Dhumaal, Helen, Pran one after the other. At the end of the film Manoj Kumar, the CID inspector arrested Tarun Bose after he disclosed the truth relating to each and every murder.
Mehmood and his sister Chand Usmani came to the island by boat. Mehmood played the role of a butler and did a great job. All the artists Tarun Bose, Helen, Pran, Dhumaal did an excellent job. The music of Shankar Jaikishan made everyone mad.
The first song of Mohammad Rafi “jaan pehchaan ho” was used by Hollywood film Ghost World. All the songs in the film created magic. Rafi’s solo “ek ladki hai jisne jeena mushkil kar diya”, “hum kale hai to kya hua dilwale hai” created magic. The duet song of Rafi and Sharda “jaane chaman shola badan” had intoxicating effect. Lata’s songs “gumnaam hai koi”, “is duniya me jeena hai to” became smash hit. Asha Bhosle and Usha Mangeshkar’s song “peeke hum tum” became big hit.
Manoj Kumar excelled in crime thrillers like Wo Kaun Thi. Gumnaam was one of his greatest hits in his illustrious career. Shankar Jaikishan always had created magic. Gumnaam was no exception. Viewers should see the film.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Happy birthday to Helen.




Happy birthday to Helen.
The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Helen on 19th Nov., 2010. She had remained an exceptional dancer and featured in majority of bollywood fllms in the 60s and 70s. She was probably one of the most indispensable figures in bollywood during 60s and 70s. Without her films like Gumnaam, Teesri Manzil, Jewel Thief, Inteqam, Carwan, Night in London, etc. would have been incomplete. She in fact filled in the empty space created by prominent dancer Cuckoo in the 50s.
One of her most memorable 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 put to test 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. Kareena Kapoor danced in the same item number as that of Helen when the film was remade by Farhan Akhtar, with Shahrukh Khan.
Her other 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.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Happy birthday to Helen.

Happy birthday to Helen.
The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Helen on 19th Nov., 2009. She had remained an exceptional dancer and featured in majority of bollywood fllms in the 60s and 70s. She in fact filled in the empty space created by prominent dancer Cuckoo in the 50s.
One of her most memorable 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 put to test 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. Kareena Kapoor danced in the same item number as that of Helen when the film was remade by Farhan Akhtar, with Shahrukh Khan.
Her other 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.
The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Helen on 19th Nov., 2009. She had remained an exceptional dancer and featured in majority of bollywood fllms in the 60s and 70s. She in fact filled in the empty space created by prominent dancer Cuckoo in the 50s.
One of her most memorable 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 put to test 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. Kareena Kapoor danced in the same item number as that of Helen when the film was remade by Farhan Akhtar, with Shahrukh Khan.
Her other 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.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Helen, Queen of the Nautch Girls
Helen, Queen of the Nautch Girls
some clips from Bollywood films featuring knockout performances from Helen. A selection of great clips from ’60s and ’70s era Bollywood films that are all well worth viewing.
Gumnaam (1965)
Jewel Thief (1967)
Night in London (1967)
Caravan (1971)
Anamika (1973)
Friday, November 21, 2008
Happy birthday to Helen
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.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Helen – the elegant dancer of bollywood.
Helen – the elegant dancer of bollywood.

Helen had contributed a lot in bollywood films from 50s to 70s with her powerful dancing. In the early 50s, most of the actresses did not learn specialised dancing and as such the films required Cuckoo, and other dancers to fill up the vacuum. But Helen, encouraged composers to create music in the manner which suited her dancing style.

In Gumnam, in 1965, she got a positive role, being one of the many members who were trapped in an unknown island and killed one after the other. In that film also Shankar Jaikishan had composed the song “is duniya me jeena hai to sunlo meri baat” in a typical manner which suited her choreographic skills. She also acted well in the film showing the anxiety of the character. She also performed in the mujra composed by Roshan, titled “nikele the kahan jane ke liye” in the film Bahu Begum, which was sung by Asha. In Teesri Manzil, in 1966, her dance number opposite Shammi Kapoor, titled “woh haseena zulfowali” composed by RD Burman, and sung by Asha and Rafi, became an everlasting hit.
She also acted in prominent roles like the partner of Mehmood, in the film Pyar hi Pyar, where the central characters included Dharmender and Vaijayantimala. Shankar Jaikishan, even procided the orchestration in the song “muqabla humse na karo’ in the film Prince, where Helen performed the western dance number against Vaijayantimala who performed the eastern dance number. Shammi Kapoor complimented both of them with his rock and roll style of dancing.

In the 70s, Helen performed in mostly dance numbers, like “piya tu ab to aja” in the film Karwan, sung by Asha, composed by RD Burman, “mehmooba, mehbooba, in Sholay, etc. Very significantly the acting skills of Helen were not exploited to that extent by most producers and directors. But whenever she got good roles she had done well. For example she performed the role of the mother of Meenakshi in Big B’s Akela, and done well. At the same time she acted mostly in negative roles, including the role opposite Rajesh Khanna in Mere Jeevan Saathi. Viewers expect Helen to act in character roles in the films made in the years to come, as it is evident that she had not lost her acting potentiality and still can contribute in recent films.
By: Rumi Chatterji.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)





