May 1, 2011

Helen of Tollywood

Here are 5 dances that Helen did for the Telugu (Tollywood) film industry. First up is a very rare Helen performance. She dances brilliantly in the latin-sounding song Rupaayi Kasulone Unnadi Tamaashaa from Santhosham (1955). It's one of the earliest videos available where she's the lead dancer. This dance features lots of closeups of a very young Helen to enjoy. Also, keep an eye out for her ballet footwork as she dances on her toes in parts of the song. :)

Special thanks to Tom Daniel for his restoration of the video.

So, sit back and enjoy the Magic of Helen :)



Next, Helen dances to Chukkesukochchaa Tikkakudiristaa Siggu Tera Teestaa from Pilla Piduga (1972). The vocal is by Telugu playback veteran L.R.Eeswari. Asha Bhosle sang the more familiar dubbed Hindi version Hoga So Hoga from Pistolwali. Thanks to Tom Daniel for restoring the video and for replacing the dubbed Hindi audio with the Telugu audio that I was able to acquire. So, now you can enjoy the video with it's original audio.



Helen dances to Sawaal Hai Kaisa in this dubbed Hindi version of Kaun Sachcha Kaun Jhootha (1972). The original Telugu audio is unavailable. Thanks, once again, to Tom Daniel for restoration of the video.



Here's the video of Sundaranga Andukora (1958) from the devotional Telugu classic - Bhookailas. Enjoy as Helen dances as Maneka and attempts to break Vishwamitra's penance.



Finally, here's another rare find. In what may be their only dance together, here's Helen and Jyothi Lakshmi in Allibilli Andamanta from Bhogi Mantalu (1981). Enjoy!


4 comments:

  1. Hi Mr.Naidu...!!!!!
    I've seen and have all the other dances of Helen except the KSKJ one and that rarest duo number..and thanks to you and Tom both for bringing them again in such great video quality..as you know these rare dances have never good video quality..

    Well can i ask you a little thing? from where did you got that rarest duo number of Helen with Jyoti? by searching or in the featured videos or by any other secret works?! i'm simply stunned!
    well do you have any partial filmography of Helen's tamil and telegu movies? you've said that's the only duo of Jyoti and Helen..i simply doubt! as i think Helen have danced many other awesomest numbers as well may be with many other tamil babes like Jaya Malini or may be Jaya Lalitha or more! she's great! i wonder how many movies she have done in her carrier? may be more than 5000 or so!

    Don't you think Jyothi Laxmi looks horrible in that dance as an big big chubby women?! yes she does! i wonder why all the tamil heroines becomes so chubby ?!
    My most favorite is that Santosham number where for the 1st time ever she have showcased her ballet talents! the music of that song is also very wonderful..
    No words to say more! just ''Speechless'' about your love for Helen..! you're really an true and big fan of Helen..greatly appreciated..
    looking forward for more rare and unseen Helen numbers! please always keep up these great works! never stop!
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Ridhima,

    Glad u liked the videos :) I found the one with Jyothi by accident. I was looking at some Jyothi videos on Youtube and stumbled upon it. This one isn't listed in any any filmography or book as far as I know. So, it was nice to highlight it on my blog for all Helen fans like yourself to see :) You're right, there could be more videos of Helen with Jyothi and others from the south. But the one with Jyothi is the only one I know of. The filmography of actors from the south isn't as good as the ones for Bollywood. So, it's hard to know what's out there. Helen's made a lot of movies, but based on the filmographies I've read I don't think it's much more than 500. The actress with the most movies made is Tamil actress Manorama. She's made over 1500! Yes, Jyothi is a bit chubby in the video. But I've seen videos of her where she's even chubbier:) Yes, I also love Helen's performance in Santosham. Who knew she could dance ballet? I've never seen another Indian dancer do ballet steps in a movie before.

    Ridhima, thanks for your comments and compliments. If there are more rare Helen videos out there, I'll try to find them and post them here and Youtube if I do :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wonderful stuff, as always. You do realize, don't you, that you must compile another DVD now?

    Is it just me, or is her dancing here more directly sexual than what we're used to from Bollywood?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Glad u liked :) Another DVD? We'll see...

    Yes, I agree. A couple of the Telugu videos pushed the envelope, especially the one from the exploitation classic - Pilla Piduga.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...