Engineer, educator and environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk is in the news for his indefinite hunger strike over the alleged NEET paper leak and is on his 18th day. Seeking Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, Wangchuk has reportedly lost more than 8 kg since beginning the protest on June 28, while a drop in his blood pressure has sparked concerns about his health. As messages of support poured in from across the country, actor Omi Vaidya, who played Chatur Ramalingam in 3 Idiots, shared an emotional post that read, “I don’t want Phunsukh Wangdu to die.”Omi’s reference to Phunsukh Wangdu reignited a long-standing debate surrounding 3 Idiots. While many viewers have associated Aamir Khan‘s character with Sonam Wangchuk, the education reformist has repeatedly denied being the inspiration behind the role. He has maintained that he was never consulted during the making of the film, never gave permission for his life or work to be used, and never received a reply after writing to the filmmakers seeking clarification. “They secretly came to my school to shoot the film,” he once claimed.During a Josh Talks session, Wangchuk recalled how he first discovered the connection people were drawing between him and 3 Idiots. “I am troubled because people constantly ask me, ‘Is your school the one shown in 3 Idiots? Are you Phunsukh Wangdu?’ I want to clarify: No, I am not Phunsukh Wangdu. I am Sonam Wangchuk. I don’t work in films, I work in real life. I work on innovations that can go from India to the world and make our country proud.”Explaining why he rarely speaks about the film, Wangchuk said he does not want to create a false narrative. “Many journalists and young people ask me about the film. I desperately want to tell them I have nothing to do with it. But that would also be a lie.”He went on to recount meeting Aamir Khan in Mumbai in 2008 while receiving a CNN-IBN award for his work in education in Ladakh. According to Wangchuk, he used the opportunity to pitch an idea for a film focused on the Siachen conflict.“I told him, ‘Can you make a film on the tension in Siachen, where countries are fighting over a piece of ice while spending nearly Rs 7 crore every day? Can we show that ordinary people from both countries solve the problem and that money is instead used for education?’” Wangchuk said, adding that Aamir listened keenly and also watched an audio-visual presentation about his work during the event.Soon after the award ceremony, Wangchuk travelled to France to study Earth Architecture. It was only after 3 Idiots released the following year that he realised people believed the film had been based on his life. “People told me, ‘The film based on you is fantastic.’ I was shocked. They also said they had shown my school.”Curious, he contacted his school and learned that a film crew had indeed visited the campus but had not disclosed the project’s identity. “They were planning to bring a lot of plastic material, so we refused permission. Later, they shot in another nearby school.”Despite the similarities, Wangchuk said he consciously refrained from publicly challenging the filmmakers because they were already facing a dispute with author Chetan Bhagat. “I didn’t want people to think I was also trying to get money from the filmmakers.”Instead, he waited until the legal deadline for seeking compensation had passed before writing to the makers, reminding them that he had met Aamir before the film’s production and expressing disappointment over not being consulted. “They never replied. Nor do I expect them to. I have better things to do in life.”Wangchuk also questioned the country’s priorities, arguing that celebrity culture often overshadows real-life achievements. “Our country gives too much importance to Bollywood and cricket. We try to achieve greatness through films, whereas we should be doing these things in real life.”
