New Delhi, December 29

Amitabh Bachchan shared an anecdote about the veteran actress Helen, and talked about how she had escaped from the Japanese occupation of Burma in 1943, during the World War 2, and came to India.

Helen is a well-known dancer known for her character roles. Born in Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar), Helen trekked to Dibrugarh, Assam, in 1943 with her family, in order to escape from the Japanese occupation of Burma.

Later, Helen got her major break at the age of 19 in 1958, when she performed on the song, ‘Mera naam Chin Chin Chu’ in ‘Howrah Bridge’.

She did many hit numbers with legendary actor Shammi Kapoor, like ‘Suku suku’ in ‘Junglee’, ‘Yamma yamma’ in ‘China Town’, and ‘O haseena zulfonwali’ in ‘Teesri Manzil’.

Amitabh, who is currently hosting the quiz-based reality show ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati 15′, welcomed the roll-over contestant Lalit Kumar to the hot seat.

For Rs 25 lakh, he was asked: ‘Which of these actresses was born in Myanmar and later escaped with her family to India during the Second World War?’

The options given were — Sulochana, Suraiya, Nadira, and Helen. The correct answer was Helen.

However, Lalit was not sure about the answer, hence he decided to quit, and took the prize money of Rs 12.5 lakh.

Amitabh then went on to say, “Helen and her family escaped Myanmar…called Burma back then. In order to escape and come to India, they had to trek through miles of wilderness passing through rivers, mountains and forests. In order to escape from the Japanese occupation of Burma, she had to do this in 1943.”

“She became a popular actress in our film industry. Watching her dance would leave one enthralled,” shared the ‘Brahmastra’ actor.

Helen has shared screen with Amitabh in ‘Mohabbatein’, ‘Don’, ‘Sholay’, ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’, ‘The Great Gambler’ and ‘Ram Balram’.

In the movie ‘Sholay’, she had a special appearance in the track ‘Mehbooba mehbooba’.

Amitabh said: “I had the good fortune of working with her in a few films. She’s a kind and compassionate woman. She used to look after everyone. We pray she stays in good health. She’s old now.”