Was Rancho’s character in ‘3 Idiots’ inspired by Sonam Wangchuk? Aamir Khan broke his silence

New Delhi: Rancho i.e. Phunsukh Wangdu from the film ‘3 Idiots’ is still counted among the most memorable characters of Hindi cinema. It was long believed that the character was inspired by Sonam Wangchuk, an engineer, educationist and social activist from Ladakh. However, now actor Aamir Khan has openly expressed his views on this entire matter for the first time. He clearly said that neither he nor the writer of the film knew Sonam Wangchuk while making the film. After this statement of Aamir, this discussion which has been going on for years has taken a new turn.

Aamir Khan was interacting with the audience during the special screening organized on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the film ‘Lagaan’ at the London Indian Film Festival. During this, he was asked whether Rancho of ‘3 Idiots’ was actually inspired by Sonam Wangchuk. Answering this question, Aamir clearly said that this perception is not correct. He told that when the story of the film was being written and made, the entire team did not know about Sonam Wangchuk. Therefore, to say that the character of Rancho was based on him is factually incorrect.

‘It’s just a misunderstanding’

Aamir Khan said that recently he saw a video on social media, in which the film’s actor Omi Vaidya had described the character of Rancho as inspired by Sonam Wangchuk. According to Aamir, this is just a misunderstanding. He said that even the film’s writers Rajkumar Hirani and Abhijat Joshi did not know about Sonam Wangchuk at that time. Therefore it would not be right to associate this character with him. Aamir also said that to respect the good deeds of a person, it is not necessary to associate him with any film character.

Aamir praised Sonam Wangchuk’s work

However, Aamir Khan also made it clear that he fully respects the work of Sonam Wangchuk. He said that Sonam’s contribution in the field of education, society and environment is very important and her work should be appreciated. Aamir said that a person should be respected because of his actual work and not on the basis of whether he has been the inspiration for a film character or not.

Expressed concern about health

During the program, Aamir Khan also expressed concern over Sonam Wangchuk’s health. He said that he hopes that Sonam will end her fast soon and her health will improve. Aamir said that a person’s life and health are more important than any movement. He also wished for his speedy recovery.

Discussion increased after Omi Vaidya’s statement

Actually, a few days ago, actor Omi Vaidya, who played the character of Chatur Ramalingam in ‘3 Idiots’, had shared a video on social media. In the video, he had claimed that the film’s character Phunsukh Wangdu is inspired by real-life Sonam Wangchuk.

Omi had also appealed to the people to pay attention to Sonam Wangchuk’s health. He had said that Sonam has been on hunger strike for a long time and her health is continuously deteriorating. After this statement, the debate once again intensified on social media whether the character of Rancho was actually based on Sonam Wangchuk.