Sonam Wangchuk responds to Aamir Khan’s 3 Idiots claims: ‘Must be short-term memory loss’

Activist, educator, and environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk has finally addressed Aamir Khan's assertion that his character in the 2009 film 3 Idiots was not based on him. The actor-film-maker made this claim a few days after his co-star Omi Vaidya confirmed the similarity on social media. Khan clarified that Vaidya was incorrect and that he, Hirani, and co-writer Abijat Joshi were unaware of Wangchuk at the time.

This claim was further substantiated by the surfacing of an old video showing Khan meeting Wangchuk before the film's release, seemingly out of context. During an interview on Prakhar Gupta's podcast, Wangchuk playfully suggested that Khan might have suffered short-term memory loss after their meeting, which could explain his claim.

Wangchuk also revealed that he met Khan and had a detailed discussion with him, but he stressed that Phunsukh Wangdu was inspired by him, not modeled directly. He clarified that it's common for creators to draw inspiration from various sources, and the script already existed before their meeting. Wangchuk remained unfazed by Khan's claim, attributing it to either subconscious influence or the writers' unawareness of its origin.