Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan denied that his character in “3 Idiots” was based on educator and climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, addressing the long-running rumor during a BFI In Conversation event at BFI Southbank, held as part of the London Indian Film Festival, which separately marked the 25th anniversary of “Lagaan.”
“No, that’s not true, actually. No, no. That is a misconception,” Khan said.
The question arose after “3 Idiots” co-star Omi Vaidya, who played Chatur in the film, shared a video on social media linking Khan’s character, Phunsukh Wangdu, to Wangchuk and drawing attention to Wangchuk’s deteriorating health during a hunger strike protesting for the resignation of India’s education minister.
“I know that I saw a video of Chatur just recently. He said that yes. No, he’s wrong,” Khan said. “Maybe that’s what Chatur was thinking, but I want to tell you that neither Raju [director Rajkumar Hirani] nor Abhijat [writer Joshi] were the two writers, nor I. We didn’t know about Mr. Sonam. However, what Mr. Sonam is doing is good work. In any case, he doesn’t have to be based on the character of ‘3 Idiots’ for us to respect him and the work that he does.”
Asked about Wangchuk’s hunger strike, Khan said: “I think all of us are very concerned for his health, and we hope that it ends well. All of us are hoping that he ends his fast.”
