Aamir Khan has broken his silence on Sonam Wangchuk’s hunger strike, and in doing so, cleared up one of Bollywood’s most persistent myths.
The 61-year-oldactor made a special appearance at the London Indian Film Festival on Thursday for a screening of Lagaan, marking 25 years since its release.
During a post-screening conversation with the audience, the Coatingl actor was asked about Sonam Wangchuk, specifically the long-held belief that his character Rancho in 3 Idiots was based on the Ladakh-based educator and activist.
The Ghajini star shut that down firmly. “No, that is not true actually. That is a misconception. I didn’t know about Mr Sonam at that time when we were doing the film, 3 Idiots. I saw a video of Chatur just recently, and he said that. But he is wrong. Maybe that is what Chatur was thinking, but I want to tell you that neither Raju nor Abhijat, who are the two writers, 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 a character of 3 Idiots for us to respect him and the work that he does. I wanted to share this from a factual point of view,” he said.
When the conversation turned to Wangchuk’s health, the activist is now 19 days into an indefinite hunger strike at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, Aamir did not shy away. “All of us are very concerned for his health and his life. We hope it ends well. All of us are hoping that he ends his fast,” he said.
Wangchuk had joined a protest launched by the Cockroach Janata Party over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak, which has since grown into a wider movement demanding accountability and examination reforms.
The protesters are calling for Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation and have put forward a five-point roadmap to overhaul India’s competitive exam system.
Despite growing concern over his deteriorating health, Wangchuk has refused to end his fast and has instead called on people to join a “Chalo Sansad” march to Parliament on July 20.
