Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan has firmly dismissed the long-held public belief that his iconic character, Phunsukh Wangdu (Rancho), from the 2009 blockbuster 3 Idiots was inspired by renowned Ladakhi educationist and climate activist Sonam Wangchuk. Khan clarified that neither he nor the film’s screenwriters had any knowledge of Wangchuk during the movie’s production.
When it was suggested that the film was inspired by Wangchuk’s life, Aamir immediately corrected the assumption.”No, that’s not true actually. That is a misconception. I didn’t know about Mr. Sonam at the time when we were doing the film 3 Idiots,” Khan stated.Smilingly addressing a recent viral video by co-star Omi Vaidya—who reprised his famous “Chatur” persona to campaign for the activist’s health—Aamir remarked, “Chatur was wrong.”He further elaborated on behalf of the creative team: “Neither Raju [Rajkumar Hirani] nor Abhijat [Joshi], the two writers, nor I knew about Sonam. However, what Mr. Sonam is doing doesn’t have to be based on a character in 3 Idiots for us to respect him. In fact, Mr. Sonam himself has previously clarified that the character is not based on him.”
Though Wangchuk had briefly met Aamir Khan at an awards ceremony in 2008 and pitched a separate film idea, he chose not to legally dispute the cinematic character’s origins when 3 Idiots became a global phenomenon.
Wangchuk noted that his silence at the time was deliberate, as he wanted to avoid public perception that he was seeking a financial payout, particularly when the filmmakers were already embroiled in a high-profile credit dispute with author Chetan Bhagat.
