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Helen graces husband Salim Khan’s 61st anniversary party with first wife Salma Khan; Salman Khan photographed at celebrations. Watch

Helen was seen smiling while entering the 61st wedding anniversary celebration of her husband Salim Khan and his first wife, Salma Khan.

Helen, her husband Salim Khan, and his first wife Salma Khan.

If there’s a blended Modern Family-like family in Bollywood, it’s that of the Khans. Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan still lives with his first wife Salma Khan, and they have five children. But his second wife, veteran actor Helen, is also a part of their family, and is often seen at every family gathering and celebration. On Monday, Helen was there for the 61st anniversary celebration of her husband Salim with his first wife Salma. Salim Khan tied the knot with Salma Khan on November 18, 1964.

The event was also attended by actor Salman Khan, the oldest son Salim and Salma. In the past, Salman has referred to Salma and Helen as the “best mothers.”

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Salman sported a black t-shirt and a moustache, which seems to be his look from Apoorva Lakhia’s upcoming period military drama Battle of Galwan. He’s also just returned from his Da-Bangg Tour in Qatar.

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Some family friends also made it to the anniversary celebrations, including Sonakshi Sinha and her husband Zaheer Iqbal. Sonakshi’s father Shatrughan Sinha famously starred in Raj Khosla’s 1980 buddy movie Dostana, which was written by Salim-Javed. Also, Sonakshi made her acting debut opposite Salman in Abhinav Kashyap’s 2010 cop drama Dabangg, which was produced by his younger brother Arbaaz Khan.

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Fresh off his professional separation from fellow blockbuster screenwriter Javed Akhtar, Salim Khan also faced an upheaval in personal life in the early 1980s. He married Helen, but stayed married to his first wife Salma. He also referred to his marriage with Helen an “emotional accident” in a chat with son Arbaaz on Bollywood Bubble last year.

“She was young, I was also young. Mera koi aisa iraada nahi tha (It was not my intention). This is an emotional accident. Kisi ke sath bhi ho sakta hai (It can happen to anyone),” said Salim, adding that it’s not ideal and doesn’t always work. In his case, however, he chose to break the news to Salma before she could find out from gossip magazines or anyone else.

“When I told her, she didn’t shake hands with me and tell me what a wonderful thing I was doing. Of course, we had problems, but for a very short time. After that, everything was accepted,” recalled Salim. He also sat down his kids and updated them even though they were quite young at the time. “I told my children, ‘I have got another person in my life. I have married her. I do not expect anything from you. I don’t expect you to love her as much as you love your mother, but I want you to give her the same respect,'” he told DNA earlier this year.

Also Read — When Salim Khan spoke about falling in love twice: ‘I wouldn’t recommend it as an ideal way of living’

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Helen had also opened up about the episode in an interview with Filmfare. “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,” she said.

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