Sonam Wangchuk’s ‘Ghajini’ jibe at Aamir Khan over memory lapse

Mumbai: Education reformer and environmental activist Sonam Wangchuk has taken a humorous swipe at actor Aamir Khan after the latter denied knowing him while 3 Idiots was being made and rejected the long-standing claim that the film’s character Phunsukh Wangdu was based on him.

Speaking on Prakhar Gupta’s podcast, Wangchuk referred to old footage showing him and Aamir together before the 2009 film’s release. In the footage, Aamir, dressed in his Ghajini look, is seen listening to Wangchuk’s speech. Wangchuk jokingly suggested that Aamir may have suffered short-term memory loss because he was so deeply immersed in his Ghajini character, whose story revolves around memory impairment.

Wangchuk maintained that their interaction was not merely a brief introduction. He recalled having detailed discussions with Aamir and exchanging ideas, making the actor’s later claim particularly striking.

Aamir had recently said that he, director Rajkumar Hirani and writer Abhijat Joshi did not know Wangchuk when 3 Idiots was being made and that Phunsukh Wangdu was not based on him. He made the clarification during a British Film Institute-related event at the London Indian Film Festival.

Wangchuk, however, has not claimed that 3 Idiots is a biography of his life. He has instead suggested that some ideas from his conversations with Aamir may have influenced the film, while acknowledging that the filmmaking team could have subsequently developed those ideas independently.

The resurfaced meeting has now added an unexpected twist to the long-running debate over the real-life inspiration behind Phunsukh Wangdu.