Motivational speaker Sana Khan was the special guest at a fundraiser for the victims of the Turkey and Syria earthquake.

The Haute Dolci restaurant on Manchester's famous Curry Mile hosted the event and invited the former Bollywood star to speak to guests.

The Wilmslow Road restaurant was opened in October last year by a Blackburn-based family.

Born and raised in Mumbai, Sana has acted in 14 films across five languages and was a popular contestant on the reality show Bigg Boss 6 in 2012. In 2020, she said she was quitting the entertainment industry to focus on ‘serving humanity’. 

The event raised £40,000 on the night and was attended by over 100 guests.

All proceeds from the event have been donated to Salam Charity, an organisation that has been providing aid and support to the affected communities. Salam Charity representatives were present during the evening to explain just how contributions would be used to aid their efforts. 

Sana, who has 5.5 million followers on social media, had earlier in the month visited Blackburn at a special women-only event organised by a mosque.

A spokesperson for Haute Dolci Manchester said: "We aimed to raise as much money as possible on the night and greatly appreciated our guests' support by sharing the event with friends and family, encouraging them to donate generously. 

"A huge thank you to everyone who supported the event."