Long before social media made cross-border kindness go viral, Indian actress Sushmita Sen quietly took part in one of the most meaningful fundraising efforts in South Asian history, and it was for Pakistan.
Back in 2006, Sushmita Sen participated in a two-day telethon in Dubai to raise funds for Imran Khan’s cancer hospital. The live broadcast ran for nearly three hours each day, and they managed to raise quite a bit of money, as recalled by Pakistani cricket legend Wasim Akram, who also took part in the event.
Imran Khan personally invited Sushmita to support the cause. She called it “a great honour” and said helping raise funds for cancer patients is “a noble cause,” and she would do whatever was within her capacity to increase cancer awareness.
The Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre was founded by Imran Khan after his mother, Mrs. Shaukat Khanum, passed away from cancer in 1985. Witnessing the suffering of poor cancer patients in Pakistani hospitals, he made it his mission to build a hospital where no patient would be turned away due to an inability to pay.
Over the years, many renowned names, including Amitabh Bachchan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Dilip Kumar, and Princess Diana, supported his fundraising efforts.
Sushmita Sen’s participation remains a beautiful reminder that humanity has no borders.
