Kamal Ghorui
Salim Khan got married to Helen when he already was married to Salma Khan (Sushila Charak) and had four children, Salman Khan, Sohail Khan, Arbaaz Khan and Alvira Khan. Which is why, it created quite a stir in the industry. Today though, the entire family is quite close. While Helen shares a close bond with Salma, she gets immense respect from all of Salim Khan’s children, who treat her like a mother. In an earlier interview, Helen had revealed that initially when she started dating the veteran screenwriter, she would hide from his first wife.Helen and Salim Khan first crossed paths in 1963 on the sets of Kabli Khan, where Helen played the lead and Salim appeared as a villain. At the time, she didn’t pay much attention to him. It was only years later, in 1966, while watching ‘Teesri Manzil’, that she noticed him.In a candid chat with Arbaaz Khan on The Invincibles, Helen spoke about the early phase of their relationship and shared how she would avoid being seen by Salim’s first wife, Salma, out of respect. She recalled, “In the beginning, what I used to do, you know, when I used to pass Bandstand, and I would know sometimes Mummy [Salma] is standing in the balcony, I would duck right down so she would not see me and think that the car would be empty near your house. I used to keep her respect so much.”
Helen also reflected on how her bond with Salim grew after he offered her a role in a film. She spoke warmly about Salma, acknowledging the emotional difficulty of the situation and emphasizing that she never wanted to disrupt the family. She said, “He (Salim) gave me a role in a film. We became friends, Mummy was very nice; it must have been tough for your mom, she must have gone through a lot at that time. I think destiny brought me close to all of you, and I must thank all of you. I never ever wanted a separation from the family for Salim.”At a time when Salim was still establishing himself in the industry, Helen was already a star. Their professional collaborations gradually turned into a deeper connection. Speaking to Pinkvilla in an earlier interview, Salim admitted that he couldn’t pinpoint when his feelings for Helen developed, but over time, they chose to give their relationship a name despite it being labelled as an affair. “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,” he had said.
