‘Rancho Was Not Based on Him’: Aamir Khan Clears Air on 3 Idiots, Concerned for Sonam Wangchuk

What Aamir said at London Indian Film Festival

On Thursday, Aamir attended the closing night of the London Indian Film Festival in London for a special screening of Lagaan. 25 years after its release, he took part in a post-screening discussion and took questions from the audience.

During the Q&A, he was asked about Sonam Wangchuk. There has been a long-standing belief that the character Rancho from 3 Idiots was inspired by Wangchuk. The conversation also covered Wangchuk’s indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.

Responding to the 3 Idiots link, Aamir said:

“No, that isn’t correct. It’s a misunderstanding. When we were making 3 Idiots, I didn’t know about Mr. Sonam. I recently saw a video where Chatur mentioned this, but that’s not accurate. Maybe that’s what he believed. Neither Raju, nor Abhijat — the two writers of the film — knew about Mr. Sonam at that time. But regardless of this, the work Mr. Sonam is doing is important. He doesn’t need to be linked to a film character for us to respect his efforts. I just wanted to clear this from a factual standpoint.

”On Wangchuk’s health”

Aamir was then asked about concerns around Wangchuk’s deteriorating health during his fast.

“All of us are very worried about his health and his life. We are hoping everything turns out well. We all hope that he calls off his fast,” the actor said.

Omi Vaidya’s message

Earlier this week, actor Omi Vaidya, who played Chatur in 3 Idiots, also posted a video supporting Wangchuk. He told viewers that the character Funsukh Wangdu was based on the real-life Ladakhi innovator and educator.  Omi said he had met Wangchuk and described him as “a very interesting person.” He added that Wangchuk has been on a prolonged hunger strike and his blood sugar levels have dropped significantly. Omi urged people to take note of the issue and support the cause, saying he does not want “Phunsukh Wangdu” to suffer.