Director Onir Slams Aamir Khan For Saying He 'Didn't Know' Sonam Wangchuk Before 3 Idiots: 'Very Disappointed'

Last Updated:July 17, 2026, 20:55 IST

Since the activist has previously detailed their first meeting, several fans are wondering why Aamir Khan was "lying" about not knowing Sonam Wangchuk.

Filmmaker Onir has expressed his disappointment over Aamir Khan’s recent remarks about Sonam Wangchuk. Aamir Khan recently addressed co-star Omi Vaidya’s appeal for Wangchuk and said that his 3 idiots character, Phunsukh Wangdu, is not based on the activist. While Wangchuk has also repeatedly distanced himself from the film, Aamir’s words have upset some fans.

Aamir Khan said that neither he, director Rajkumar Hirani, nor writer Abhijat Joshi knew Wangchuk when the film was being made. However, Wangchuk has previously detailed his meeting with Aamir before 3 Idiots was made. Senior editor of a publication, Jitesh Pillai, took to Instagram to call out Aamir and Rajkumar for this recent statement.

Reacting to this post, filmmaker Onir, best known for making My Brother Nikhil, wrote in the comments section, “Very Disappointed to hear that statement from Aamir." Onir’s comment has caught a lot of attention, with the journalist replying, “What were u expecting, Onir?" The filmmaker wrote, “True."

What Did Aamir Khan Say?

During an interaction at the British Film Institute (BFI), Aamir Khan was asked about activist Sonam Wangchuk’s ongoing hunger strike. The reporter began by referring to 3 Idiots as a film that an entire generation grew up watching and mentioned the widely held belief that it was inspired by Sonam Wangchuk. The actor said, “No, that’s not true, actually. That is a misconception. I didn’t know about Mr Sonam Wangchuk at that time when we were doing the film."

He added, “I know that, I saw a video of Chatur, just recently he said that… No, he’s wrong. Maybe that’s what Chatur was thinking, but I want to tell you neither did Raju, nor Abhijat (one of the two writers), nor I, we didn’t know about Sonam. However, what Mr Sonam is doing is good work anyway. He doesn’t need to be based on the character of 3 Idiots for us to respect him and the work he’s done."

Aamir also said that Sonam Wangchuk himself had clarified that the character was not based on him. He added, “Just from the factual point of view, I wanted to clarify." When he was further asked about Sonam’s ongoing hunger strike, Aamir replied, “Well, all of us are very concerned about his health and his life. And we hope that it ends well. All of us are hoping that he ends his fast and looks after himself."

Sonam Wangchuck Distanced Himself From 3 Idiots

During a past appearance on Kaun Banega Crorepati, Sonam told 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."

Why Are Fans Upset With Aamir Khan?

Hours after Aamir Khan claimed that he did not know about Sonam Wangchuk when he was working on 3 Idiots, an old video of the activist surfaced on social media, leaving netizens shocked. In the video, Wangchuk claimed that he met Aamir Khan in 2008 during an event in Mumbai when they discussed a movie focused on the Siachen conflict. He further claimed that Aamir listened to his idea very keenly and also watched an audio-visual presentation about his work. Several fans are wondering why Aamir Khan was “lying" about not knowing Sonam Wangchuk.

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Kashvi Raj Singh

Kashvi Raj Singh is a Sub Editor at News18. She extensively covers Bollywood, Hollywood and television. She not only keeps an eye out for interesting news angles but also often writes social commentar...Read More

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