An old video of education reformer and activist Sonam Wangchuk has resurfaced on social media after actor Aamir Khan recently said that he and the makers of 3 Idiots did not know Wangchuk when the film was being made and the video has gone viral as it shows Wangchuk talking about meeting Aamir Khan in 2008, a year before the release of 3 Idiots.
The video began circulating online after Aamir Khan addressed the long-standing belief that the character of Phunsukh Wangdu in 3 Idiots was based on Sonam Wangchuk, speaking during an event at the British Film Institute in England, Aamir Khan said the claim was a misconception. He said neither he nor director Rajkumar Hirani nor writer Abhijat Joshi knew Sonam Wangchuk while making the film.
Aamir Khan said that he did not know about Sonam Wangchuk at the time 3 Idiots was being made, he also said that recent comments by actor Omi Vaidya, who played Chatur in the film, were based on his own understanding and were not correct, and according to Aamir, the film's writers and makers had no knowledge of Wangchuk during the production of the movie.
Despite rejecting the claim that the character was based on Wangchuk, Aamir praised the activist's work and said Sonam Wangchuk's efforts deserve respect regardless of whether they inspired any film character.
Aamir also expressed concern over Wangchuk's health, as the activist has been on an indefinite hunger strike at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, and reports say he has completed around 20 days of fasting. Aamir said he hopes the fast ends safely and wished for Wangchuk's good health.
A few months after meeting Aamir Khan in 2008, Sonam Wangchuk travelled to France to study earth architecture, he later said that in December 2009, after the release of 3 Idiots, he started receiving emails and messages from friends and journalists congratulating him on a film that they believed was based on his work.
Wangchuk said he was surprised because he had no idea what they were talking about, he later came to know that parts of the film had been planned at a school associated with him and according to Wangchuk, members of the film team had visited the school in 2008 but did not explain the purpose of their visit or reveal details about the project.
Wangchuk also shared that after 3 Idiots was released, he thought about writing to the filmmakers regarding the similarities that people were pointing out between his work and the film's character.
However, he decided not to do so at that time and said a public dispute had already broken out between author Chetan Bhagat and the filmmakers over the film's authorship, Wangchuk said he did not want his letter to be misunderstood as an attempt to seek money or credit.
According to Wangchuk, he waited for around two years before finally writing a letter to the filmmakers and in the letter, he mentioned his 2008 meeting with Aamir Khan and referred to the film. He said he never received any response to that letter.
The issue has once again become a topic of public discussion after Aamir Khan's recent statement and the resurfacing of Wangchuk's old video, while Aamir Khan has maintained that the 3 Idiots character was not based on Sonam Wangchuk, the resurfaced video has drawn fresh attention to Wangchuk's account of his meeting with the actor and the events that followed the film's release.
