Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan has often described himself as a fortunate man, not just for his professional success, but for the way his family eventually found balance despite emotional upheavals.
Married to Salma Khan (born Sushila Charak) and later to actor-dancer Helen, Salim's personal life has long been a subject of public curiosity.
Over the years, he and his children have spoken candidly about the difficult beginnings, the hostility that followed, and the harmony that ultimately prevailed.
The First Marriage And The Foundation Of The Family
Salim Khan married Salma in 1964 after a five-year courtship. Born Sushila Charak into a mixed Dogra Rajput-Maharashtrian background, she adopted the name Salma after marriage. Together, they built the foundation of what would become one of Hindi cinema's most prominent families.
The couple have four children: Salman Khan (born 1965), Arbaaz Khan (born 1967), Sohail Khan (born 1969), and Alvira Khan Agnihotri (born 1970). Salim later adopted Arpita Khan Sharma, who was found as an infant on a Mumbai footpath and raised as their own.
Professionally, Salim was at the peak of his career as one half of the iconic writing duo Salim-Javed, penning blockbusters like Sholay and Zanjeer. It was during this time that his personal life took an unexpected turn.
Meeting Helen And An "Emotional Accident"
Salim first met Helen on the set of Kabli Khan, where she played the lead role and he portrayed a villain. Reflecting on that time in Prime Video's docu-series Angry Young Men, Helen remarked, "I can't imagine Salim sahab as a villain."
However, they barely interacted then. It was years later, during the making of the 1978 film Don, starring Amitabh Bachchan, that their bond grew stronger. The film was written by Salim-Javed.
Recalling those days, Salim shared, "After the day's shooting, Helen would come over, and we would have a drink together, and then she would leave."
When asked how he realised he was in love, he responded, "Pyaar toh aapne agar kiya hoga toh pata lagega (You will know if you have fallen in love)."
On his son Arbaaz's chat show The Invincibles, Salim described the relationship as an "emotional accident." "She was young, I was also young. It was not my intention. This is an emotional accident. This can happen with anyone," he said.
He went on to marry Helen in 1981 without divorcing Salma, a decision that was met with pain and resistance at home.
The Period Of Hostility
Salim has openly admitted that the initial days were far from easy. In an earlier interview with DNA, he acknowledged the tension within the family. "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."
In a 1990 interview with Filmfare, Salman Khan spoke about how deeply his mother was affected. "She was very hurt when my father married again. I'd hate it when she'd wait up for him to come home."
Salman added that his father tried to reassure them during that period. "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," he said.
A Conversation With The Children
Rather than keeping his second marriage hidden, Salim chose transparency. Speaking about how he addressed the situation with his children, he said, "I sat all the kids down and discussed it with them. I told them, 'You won't understand it now, but you will get it when you're older. I am in love with Helen aunty, and I know you can't love her as much as you love your mother, but I want the same respect for her.'"
He insisted that his children address her as "Helen Aunty" and show her the same respect they gave their mother.
Arbaaz later reflected on how this played out within the household. "We still call her aunty because she was Helen aunty at that time. Though we treat her as a mother, we call her Helen aunty. She is part of our lives. More than us, my mom ensures that she is part of everything," Arbaaz shared.
He also acknowledged his mother's dignity during that difficult time, saying, "My mother never influenced us to think or say anything against our father. She had her troubles, but she never influenced us to think, 'Your dad is like this,' or, 'This is what he is doing.' Never."
Harmony Over Time
Over the years, the friction gave way to acceptance. Helen has often expressed gratitude for the love she receives from Salim and Salma's children. "They don't have to care for me or love me or anything, but the respect and the love I get is unbelievable," she said.
Salim, too, has described the present-day family equation with warmth. In his interview with DNA, he said, "I'm lucky that I have two wives and that they live in harmony. Never mind if that happened a few years later. My wives are good-looking and now they are ageing gracefully."
Arbaaz said that the three of them, Salma, Helen and Salim, are now "inseparable."
Today, the Khan family is often described as a tightly knit unit. Family gatherings at Galaxy Apartments and the Panvel farmhouse are regular affairs. Despite divorces and life changes among the siblings - Arbaaz's separation from Malaika Arora and later marriage to Sshura Khan, Sohail's separation from Seema Sachdeva, and the next generation stepping into films, the core family bond remains intact.
Also Read: Salman Khan: Growing Up With Two Mothers In A Family Like No Other
