Aamir Khan found himself at the center of a social media controversy following his recent comments about the engineer and education reformer Sonam Wangchukwhich is currently on a prolonged hunger strike demanding constitutional protections for Ladakh.During a recent media interaction, Aamir was asked about Wangchuk’s ongoing fast. Since Aamir’s character Rancho in ‘3 Idiots’ has long been believed to be the inspiration of Sonam Wangchuk, the actor’s response has garnered a lot of attention. Aamir denied knowing Wangchuk before the making of the 2009 blockbuster, saying 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) recently, and he said that. But he is wrong. Maybe that’s what Chatur thinks, but I want to tell you that neither Raju nor Abhijat (Rajkumar HiraniAbhijat Joshi) which are the two writers, we do not know Mr. Sonam. However, what Mr. Sonam has done is a good job in any case. He doesn’t need to base a character on 3 idiots for us to respect him and the work he does. I want to share this from a real point of view. ” However, social media users are now questioning the claim by repurposing an old video showing Aamir and Wangchuk at the same event months before ‘3 Idiots’ went on floors. The viral clip came from one of Sonam Wangchuk’s TED Talks, where she recalled meeting Aamir Khan and even played footage from the 2008 awards ceremony where she received the “Real Heroes” Award for her contribution to education and social development. In the audience, Aamir Khan can be seen sitting next to his ex-wife Kiran Rao.While accepting the award, Wangchuk praised Aamir’s film ‘Taare Zameen Par’ for highlighting issues in the education system. He also suggested an idea for an upcoming film that would focus on improving school education in remote border regions like Siachen. The footage shows Aamir and Kiran smiling and nodding while listening to his speech.The timeline has become a major talking point online. The award ceremony took place in 2008, and Aamir was seen wearing the shaved ‘Ghajini’ look, which reports suggested he adopted around March of 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 of Shimla and Ladakh during August and September. Given Aamir’s reputation for immersing himself completely in his roles, many believed that he should not have filmed ‘3 Idiots’ while maintaining the ‘Ghajini’ hairstyle.Although Aamir briefly stopped shooting for ‘3 Idiots’ to promote ‘Ghajini’, which released in December 2008, he has since switched to the shorter hairstyle seen in ‘3 Idiots’ during the promotional campaign. Filming for the Rajkumar Hirani directorial finally wrapped up in February 2009.Based on this sequence of events, many online users argued that the award function attended by Aamir Khan and Sonam Wangchuk took place before the end-and even the main shooting of ‘3 Idiots’. This has fueled speculation about Aamir’s recent statement that he did not know Wangchuk before the film.Despite the controversy, Aamir expressed concern for Wangchuk’s health in a recent interaction and praised his contributions to society. However, his claim that he did not know Wangchuk before ‘3 Idiots’ has reignited the debate across social media, with many users citing the resurfaced 2008 footage as evidence to the contrary. Meanwhile, amid Aamir’s statement, his ex-wife Kiran Rao came out in support of Wangchuk.
