A few hours after Aamir Khan denied knowing climate activist Sonam Wangchuk during the making of 3 Idiots, a viral video of Sonam has been doing the rounds on social media. The clip shows the activist speaking about meeting Aamir in 2008, a year before the release of 3 Idiots.
When Sonam Wangchuk recalled meeting Aamir Khan
In the clip, Sonam talks about meeting Aamir in 2008 during an event in Mumbai and how he discussed a movie focused on the Siachen conflict with the actor.
He said, “I told him, ‘Can you make a film on the tension in Siachen, where countries are fighting over a piece of ice while spending nearly ₹7 crore every day? Can we show that ordinary people from both countries solve the problem and that money is instead used for education?’” Wangchuk said.
Sonam shared that Aamir listened to his idea and also watched his presentation on the same. In the clip, Sonam went on to show glimpses of the 2008 event, where he received an award while Aamir is seen clapping for him.
Sonam shared that he later travelled to Europe to study Earth Architecture, but Aamir came up again in his life in December 2009, when he started receiving messages and calls from his friends saying that Aamir Khan had starred in a film based on him and his school in Ladakh. “People told me, ‘The film based on you is fantastic.’ I was shocked. They also said they had shown my school,” he said.
3 Idiots wasn’t shot in Sonam’s school
However, when Sonam contacted his school, he learned that a film crew had indeed visited their campus. However, they refused to let them shoot on the premises because the crew was very secretive about its project and had also brought a lot of plastic with them. Sonam said in the clip, “They were planning to bring a lot of plastic material, so we refused permission. Later, they shot in another nearby school.” He revealed that the film was shot in another school.
What did Aamir say?
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 same, Aamir denied knowing the activist during the shooting 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,” Aamir said.
Fans react
Fans were not happy with Aamir denying that he knew Sonam. A fan commented on the viral clip, “The film was released in 2009, but Aamir had already met Sonam Wangchuk in 2008. They even visited his school for shooting in 2009. When Wangchuk’s students refused permission because the crew was carrying plastic waste, the shoot was shifted to a nearby school. So the claim that he didn’t know about Sonam Wangchuk until after the film’s release simply doesn’t add up.”
Another comment defended Aamir and read, “He is a superstar he meet lots of people like this everyday it is impossible to remember everyone for him.”
The debate comes amid the long-standing discussion over whether the character of Phunsukh Wangdu, played by Aamir in 3 Idiots, was inspired by Sonam Wangchuk. While Aamir has now denied that he or the film’s writers knew about Sonam while making the 2009 film, the resurfaced clip of their 2008 meeting has led to renewed debate among fans online.