Aamir Khan has found himself at the center of a social media controversy following his recent remarks about engineer and education reformer Sonam Wangchuk, who is currently on a prolonged hunger strike demanding constitutional safeguards for Ladakh.During a recent interaction with the media, Aamir was asked about Wangchuk’s ongoing fast. Since Aamir’s character Rancho in ‘3 Idiots’ has long been believed to be inspired by Sonam Wangchuk, the actor’s response drew widespread attention. Aamir denied having known Wangchuk before the making of the 2009 blockbuster, claiming that neither he nor the film’s writers were familiar with him at the time.Aamir also said at an event, “I saw a video of Chatur (Omi Vaidya) 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 (Rajkumar Hirani, Abhijat Joshi) 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.” However, social media users have now questioned that claim by resurfacing an old video that appears to place Aamir and Wangchuk at the same event months before ‘3 Idiots’ went on floors. The viral clip comes from one of Sonam Wangchuk’s TED Talks, where he recalled meeting Aamir Khan and even played footage from a 2008 awards ceremony in which he received the “Real Heroes” Award for his contributions to education and social development. In the audience, Aamir Khan can be seen seated alongside his then-wife Kiran Rao. While accepting the honour, Wangchuk praised Aamir’s film ‘Taare Zameen Par’ for highlighting issues in the education system. He also suggested an idea for a future film that would focus on improving school education in remote border regions such as Siachen. The footage shows Aamir and Kiran smiling and nodding as they listened to his speech.The timeline has become a major talking point online. The award ceremony took place in 2008, and Aamir is seen sporting the shaved ‘Ghajini’ look, which reports suggest he adopted around March that year for the film’s release. Meanwhile, principal photography for ‘3 Idiots’ began later in July 2008 with supporting actors, while Aamir and Kareena Kapoor joined the schedule in Shimla and Ladakh during August and September. Given Aamir’s reputation for fully immersing himself in his roles, many believe he would not have filmed ‘3 Idiots’ while still maintaining the ‘Ghajini’ hairstyle.Although Aamir briefly paused shooting ‘3 Idiots’ to promote ‘Ghajini’, released in December 2008, he had already transitioned to the shorter hairstyle seen in ‘3 Idiots’ during the promotional campaign. Filming for the Rajkumar Hirani directorial eventually wrapped in February 2009.Based on this sequence of events, many online users argue that the award function attended by both Aamir Khan and Sonam Wangchuk took place well before the completion—and even the principal shooting of ‘3 Idiots’. This has fueled speculation over Aamir’s recent statement that he was unaware of Wangchuk before the film.Despite the controversy, Aamir expressed concern for Wangchuk’s health during the recent interaction and praised his contributions to society. Nevertheless, his assertion that he did not know Wangchuk before ‘3 Idiots’ has reignited debate across social media, with many users citing the resurfaced 2008 footage as evidence to the contrary. Meanwhile, amidst Aamir’s statement, his ex-wife Kiran Rao has come out in support of Wangchuk.
