‘I am not Phunsukh Wangdu’: Why Sonam Wangchuk distanced himself from Aamir Khan’s 3 Idiots

Engineer, educator and environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk has been making headlines for his indefinite hunger strike, which began on June 28, demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over the alleged NEET paper leak. In the 18 days since he began the protest, Wangchuk has reportedly lost over 8 kg, while his blood pressure has also dropped, raising concerns about his health. As updates on his condition emerged, several actors voiced their support. Among them was Omi Vaidya, who famously portrayed Chatur Ramalingam in 3 Idiots. Reacting to Wangchuk’s deteriorating health, he wrote, “I don’t want Phunsukh Wangdu to die.”

For years, many have believed that Aamir Khan’s character Phunsukh Wangdu in 3 Idiots was inspired by Sonam Wangchuk. However, Wangchuk has consistently distanced himself from the film. He has maintained that he was never consulted during its making, never gave his consent, and never received a response to the letter he later wrote to the filmmakers questioning the alleged use of his work and life. “They secretly came to my school to shoot the film,” he once claimed.

‘I am not Phunsukh Wangdu’

Appearing on Kaun Banega Crorepati, Wangchuk clarified his stand while speaking to Amitabh Bachchan. “If you say inspired, then I won’t deny it. A lot of people say the film is based on me, but I don’t agree with that. The right word is that it may have been inspired or influenced. At the same time, I don’t want people in this country to accept something simply because it is associated with a film. So even if the film is influenced by me, I am not very proud of it. And if it is not inspired by me, I don’t regret it either.”

How Wangchuk says he learnt about the film

In a Josh Talks session, Wangchuk narrated how he first came to know about 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.”

He added that he often avoids discussing the film because he does not want to misrepresent the truth. “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.”

His meeting with Aamir Khan

Wangchuk recalled that in 2008, he travelled to Mumbai to receive a CNN-IBN award for his educational work in Ladakh, where he met Aamir Khan. He said he told the actor about his idea for a film centred on the conflict in Siachen.

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“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?'” According to Wangchuk, Aamir listened with great interest and also watched an audio-visual presentation of his work that was screened during the event.

‘They came secretly to my school’

Wangchuk said that after the award ceremony he travelled to France to study Earth Architecture. A year later, after 3 Idiots was released, he was flooded with emails from people congratulating him. “People told me, ‘The film based on you is fantastic.’ I was shocked. They also said they had shown my school.”

When he contacted his school, he was told that a film crew had indeed visited but had kept the project a secret. “They were planning to bring a lot of plastic material, so we refused permission. Later, they shot in another nearby school.”

Wangchuk said he deliberately chose not to publicly object to the film immediately because another controversy was already brewing between the filmmakers and author Chetan Bhagat. “I didn’t want people to think I was also trying to get money from the filmmakers.”

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He said he waited until the legal period for claiming compensation had expired before writing to the makers, explaining how he had met Aamir Khan before the film was made and expressing his disappointment over not being consulted. “They never replied. Nor do I expect them to. I have better things to do in life.”

He also criticised India’s obsession with films and cricket. “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.”

The Chetan Bhagat-3 Idiots controversy

The release of 3 Idiots in December 2009 also sparked a major dispute between the filmmakers and author Chetan Bhagat, whose novel Five Point Someone served as the source material for the film. Bhagat objected to what he felt was inadequate recognition, arguing that while the film was adapted from his novel, the main story credit went to Rajkumar Hirani and Abhijat Joshi.

Speaking to the media at the time, Bhagat said: “For the past two years, I trusted Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Aamir Khan blindly, and this is what I get in return. Now I am being threatened with legal action, but I am ready for it.”

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The remark came after Aamir Khan warned of legal action over what he described as defamatory allegations. Producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra, meanwhile, strongly rejected Bhagat’s claims and accused the author of using the controversy to promote his book.

In a blog post, Bhagat wrote: “Before release, the makers said the movie was only ‘very loosely’ or ‘2-5% inspired’ by the book. After release, those who have read both the book and seen the film know it is an adaptation of Five Point Someone.”

He further argued: “The setting, characters, plotline, dramatic twists, one-liners, theme and message—almost everything that makes up the story comes from Five Point Someone. Yes, adaptations require changes, but this is by no means an original story.”

Responding to the controversy, Aamir Khan defended Hirani and Joshi.

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“It is very unfortunate that Chetan is behaving in this manner. Abhijat Joshi has spent nearly three years writing the screenplay. It is unfortunate that Chetan is trying to take away credit from someone who is not as famous as he is.”

Chetan Bhagat later said he was paid fairly

Speaking on Kushal Lodha’s podcast last year, Bhagat looked back at the deal with far less bitterness. He revealed that he had sold the adaptation rights to Five Point Someone for Rs 1 lakh, with an agreement that he would receive a Rs 10 lakh success bonus if the film performed well. “We had settled for a Rs 1 lakh contract, along with a Rs 10 lakh bonus. After the success of the film, they did pay me the bonus.”

Although 3 Idiots eventually earned around Rs 350 crore worldwide and Bhagat received just Rs 11 lakh, he said he had no regrets.

“I was pretty new then. Later, such rights were sold for crores. But when I sold the rights, I didn’t even know if the film would ever be made. It was an unconventional story, and nobody imagined Aamir Khan would do it. Looking back, I think I was paid fairly for that situation.”

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The debate over whether 3 Idiots was inspired by Sonam Wangchuk has continued for nearly two decades. While many viewers still associate the film’s iconic protagonist with the innovator from Ladakh, Wangchuk himself has consistently maintained that he would rather be known for his real-life work than for a fictional character.