When Helen admitted feeling 'disturbed' and 'guilty' after marrying Salim Khan in the beginning

Salim khan with Helen and Sushila

Screenwriter Salim Khan has contributed to the transformation of Indian cinema in the 1970s and 1980s. The man who created so many memorable and larger-than-life characters for on screen also had an equally remarkable presence in real life.

He was not only one of the most successful screenwriters of his era, but he was also a dapper man who was impossible to look away from.

When Salim Khan's career was just getting started, he met Sushila Charak, aka Salma Khan, his first wife. The couple instantly fell in love and got married after five years of dating. They welcomed four kids, Salman Khan, Arbaaz Khan, Sohail Khan, and Alvira Khan.

However, distance crept in as Salma Khan became preoccupied with her children and Salim became preoccupied with writing the script. Helen was gaining popularity in the field at the same time.

Salim Khan and Helen grew closer as they started collaborating on a few projects.

Salim Khan chose to honor his relationship with Helen and married her in 1980, despite the fact that many would have considered this to be a fleeting affair.

Also Read: Helen joins Salim Khan and Salma Khan’s 61st anniversary celebration - watch videos

In a throwback interview with Pinkvilla, Salim Khan talked about falling in love with Helen and 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.”

However, Helen also talked about the marriage and how she felt guilty in the beginning for marrying an already married man.

Helen said, "The fact that Salim was a married man did disturb me and I did felt guilty in the beginning. 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.”

Also Read: Salim Khan recalls how he revealed his relationship with Helen to wife Salma Khan; says, 'When I told her, she didn’t...'

Salim Khan also revealed that his and Salma’s kids were not ready to accept them in their lives. He said, “As kids they had their hostility. But they reacted the way their mother did. As I told you very honestly, it wasn't as if Salma accepted the relationship happily straightaway and thanked me for it or said, you deserve an Oscar for it. So at that time there was hostility from the children."

But as time went on, Salma and the kids realised how loving Helen was, and they gradually welcomed her into the family. Salim Khan now resides in a large, blended family with his wife and all of their kids.