In July, Bollywood actor Aamir Khan denied knowing climate activist Sonam Wangchuk during the making of 3 Idiots and also denied that the film was based on him. Hours after his statement, a video of Aamir and Sonam meeting in 2008 surfaced online. Now, in a podcast with Prakhar Gupta, Sonam took a sly dig at Aamir while responding to his claims.
Sonam Wangchuk roasts Aamir Khan
Sonam reacted to Aamir’s ‘we never met’ claims and said, “When he said that we hadn’t even met, some videos later emerged in which he was watching one of my speeches while dressed in the Ghajini outfit. Shayad woh Ghajini outfit mein the toh short-term memory loss huwa hoga, 15 min aad bhul gaye honge. Toh, mai hairaan nahi hoon. Warna bahot detail mein mile the hum (Perhaps he was in the Ghajini outfit, so he had some short-term memory loss and forgot for 15 minutes or so. So, I’m not surprised. Otherwise, we had met and discussed things in great detail).”
Recalling Aamir’s statement, Sonam said, “We’ve heard that he gets so deeply into his characters. So perhaps he got so immersed in Ghajini that when he came to the award function where I was receiving an award, he may have forgotten about me too. Otherwise, we met at length and discussed a lot of ideas. And I wouldn’t say that he based it on or made a biography of… this is what you call inspiration. He had a script, so he must have added into it. Perhaps his co-writers or directors didn’t realise that he had added an idea he had picked up somewhere, after meeting someone or having a conversation. It doesn’t make any difference to me. Let it go.”
What did Aamir Khan say about Sonam Wangchuk?
During an interaction at the British Film Institute (BFI), Aamir Khan was asked about activist Sonam Wangchuk and his ongoing hunger strike. Responding to the question, Aamir denied knowing the activist during the making of 3 Idiots.
He said, “No, that’s not true, actually. That is a misconception. I didn’t know about Mr Sonam Wangchuk at that time when we were doing the film. I know that; I saw a video of Chatur. Just recently, he said that… No, he’s wrong. Maybe that’s what Chatur was thinking, but I want to tell you neither did Raju, nor Abhijat (one of the two writers), nor I, we didn’t know about Sonam. However, what Mr Sonam is doing is good work anyway. He doesn’t need to be based on the character of 3 Idiots for us to respect him and the work he’s done.”
About 3 Idiots
Directed by Rajkumar Hirani, 3 Idiots is one of Bollywood’s most loved coming-of-age films. Released in 2009, the film stars Aamir Khan, R Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Boman Irani in pivotal roles.
Set against the backdrop of an engineering college, the film follows three friends, Rancho (Aamir), Farhan (Madhavan) and Raju (Sharman), as they navigate academic pressure, friendship, family expectations and the race for success. Rancho’s unconventional approach to education challenges the system’s obsession with marks and ranks, while Farhan and Raju struggle with their own fears and ambitions.
The film was both a critical and commercial success and went on to become one of the highest-grossing Indian films of its time.