Salman Khan has never shied away from speaking his mind, but one of his most heartfelt confessions goes back to the moment his family changed forever. Long before he became Bollywood’s superstar, he was a 10-year-old boy trying to make sense of his father Salim Khan’s decision to marry Helen.
‘I’m a mama’s boy… I’d hate it when she’d wait up for him’: Salman Khan
Salman once opened up in a 1990 Filmfare interview, recalling how painful it was to watch his mother, Salma Khan, navigate the early days of his father’s second marriage. “I’m a mama’s boy. I can’t bear to see her unhappy. She was very hurt when my father married again, I’d hate it when she’d wait up for him to come home,” he had said.
But the same interview also revealed how things shifted
when his father reassured the children that nothing would change. “Dad explained to us that he still loved mom and that he’ll always be around. I was about 10 at that time and it took us quite some time to really accept Helen aunty. Today she’s a part of our family. Our whole family is like a closed fist…”
Helen’s own guilt: ‘The fact that Salim was a married man did disturb me’
While Salman struggled as a child, Helen was battling her own emotions. In an older Filmfare interview, she admitted, “The fact that Salim was a married man did disturb me and I did feel guilty in the beginning. Something about Salim set him apart from the rest of the industry men. I respected him tremendously as he tried to help me out without trying to exploit me.”
How Salim Khan and Helen’s bond began
Their connection had grown years earlier during the making of Don, where Helen delivered the timeless “Yeh Mera Dil Yaar Ka Diwana.” “The first time I really met him was during Don,” Helen said.
Salim recalled how their evening conversations slowly brought them closer. “After the day’s shooting, Helen would come over, and we would have a drink together, and then she would leave.” Asked how he fell in love, he simply said, “Pyaar toh apne agar kiya hoga toh pata lagega.”
What began as turbulence eventually settled into a rare, united dynamic. Salman has said the family became close only after Salma accepted Helen fully. Years later, the bond is unshakeable — Helen is present at every major family event, including Salim and Salma’s recent 61st wedding anniversary.
