Yesteryear actress Helen turns 82 today.
On Helen’s birthday, let us revisit history to learn about why the actress married Salman Khan’s father and noted scriptwriter Salim Khan.
Salim was already married and had children when he wedded Helen back in 1980. Salim was 45 while Helen 42.
Salim’s first wife is Sushila Charak whom he married in 1964. A year later, Salman was born to the couple. It was around this period when Salim got to meet and work with Helen in several Hindi films. Helen herself was married to one Prem Narayan whom she divorced in 1974.
But what made Helen ditch her husband for Salim? Well, in an interview, Helen explained that unlike other industry big shots, Salim never tried to take advantage of her.
“Something about Salim set him apart from rest of the industry men. I respected him tremendously as he tried to help me out without trying to exploit me,” she said.
Salim, when asked when he fell in love with Helen, said: “I won’t be able to say when exactly I fell in love with her or decided to marry her. After seeing her for quite a long time we decided to honour our relationship. We got married in 1980.”
Nearly 40 years on, their love is still strong.
PNN