Aamir Khan has addressed Sonam Wangchuk’s indefinite hunger strike and denied long-standing claims that his 3 Idiots character Rancho was based on the Ladakh activist. Speaking at the London Indian Film Festival, Khan said neither he nor the writers knew Wangchuk while making the film, but praised his work, voiced concern over his deteriorating health, and hoped the 19-day fast ends soon.
Aamir Khan has finally spoken up about activist Sonam Wangchuk's indefinite hunger strike, addressing the longstanding belief that Wangchuk inspired his character Rancho in the blockbuster coming-of-age film 3 Idiots.
Wangchuk, the 59-year-old Indian engineer, education reformer and environmentalist from Ladakh, began his fast on June 28. He joined a campaign spearheaded by the Cockroach Janta Party, a youth led political movement, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in the wake of the NEET-UG examination paper leak.
During his special appearance at the London Indian Film Festival for the screening of Lagaan, Khan claimed that his character was not inspired by Wangchuk. He also expressed concern over the activist's deteriorating health, now 19 days into his fast, and voiced hope that it would end soon. Neither Sharman Joshi or R. Madhavan, who led the film alongside Khan as Raju Rastogi and Farhan Qureshi, have addressed this matter yet.
Calling it a misconception, Khan commented on a recent video shared by Om Vaidya, who played Chatur in the film.
"I didn’t know about Mr Sonam at that time when we were doing the film. I saw a video of Chatur just recently, and he said that. But he is wrong," he said. The actor also claimed that neither of the films writers, Rajkumar Hirani or or Abhijat Joshi knew of Wangchuk.
Khan went on to express empathy for the activist, stating that he is doing good work and that he doesn't have to be based on a character from the movie to deserve respect.
"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," Khan concluded.