Sonam Wangchuk is back in the spotlight! But this time, the Indian activist is drawing attention for reacting to viral comments made by Bollywood stars Aamir Khan and Salman Khan during his hunger strike at the CJP protest. While Aamir had earlier clarified that the two had never met, Salman weighed in with his own take, urging Wangchuk to end his hunger strike by writing, “Sonam, it’s done, bro.” The environmentalist’s response has now added a fresh twist to the discussion.
Sonam Wangchuk Reacts to Aamir Khan and Salman Khan’s Viral Statements
Appearing on Prakhar Gupta’s YouTube channel for a podcast, Wangchuk took a sly dig at Aamir Khan and Salman Khan’s viral remarks about his hunger strike during the CJP protest.
Reacting to Aamir’s “we never met” claim, Sonam said, “When he said that we hadn’t even met, some videos later emerged in which he was watching one of my speeches while dressed in the Ghajini outfit. Shayad woh Ghajini outfit mein the toh short-term memory loss hua hoga; 15 min baad bhool gaye honge. Toh, mai hairaan nahi hoon. Warna bahut detail mein mile the hum.” (Perhaps he was in the Ghajini outfit, so he had some short-term memory loss and forgot for 15 minutes or so. So, I’m not surprised. Otherwise, we had met and discussed things in great detail.)
He further said their meeting was not just a brief introduction, but a lengthy conversation. Wangchuk added, “Humne suna hai na, woh apne character mein ghus jaate hain. Toh shayad Ghajini mein itne ghuse the ki jab woh award function mein aaye, jismein main award le raha tha, woh bhi bhool gaye honge. Warna bahot detail mein mile, bahot ideas discuss kiye.” (We often hear that actors get so deeply into their characters. Maybe he got so immersed in Ghajini that when he came to the award function where I was receiving an award, he forgot that too. Otherwise, we had met at length and discussed several ideas.)
What Did Aamir Khan Say About Sonam Wangchuk?
Speaking at an event in London, Aamir Khan shut down the longstanding belief that Rajkumar Hirani’s 3 Idiots is based on the life story of Sonam Wangchuk. Khan said that neither he nor the film’s writers knew Sonam Wangchuk while making 3 Idiots, and dismissed the idea that the character Rancho was based on him.
He said, “No, that’s not true, actually. That is a misconception. I didn’t know about Mr Sonam Wangchuk at the time we were making the film. 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 that neither Raju nor Abhijat nor I knew 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.”
Sonam Wangchuk Takes a Dig at Salman Khan’s ‘Sonam, It’s Done Bro’ Statement
After responding to Aamir Khan’s claim that his 3 Idiots character Phunsukh Wangdu was not based on him, activist, educator and environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk also took a sly dig at Salman Khan’s remarks on his hunger strike during the NEET protests.
During his appearance on Gupta’s podcast, the host gifted Wangchuk a white T-shirt printed with a meme of Khan’s line, “Sonam, it’s done, bro.” Accepting the gift, Wangchuk responded to the viral statement, saying, “Majbooriyan hoti hogi sabki. Toh main usme nahi jana chahunga. Aage-peeche, daayein-baayein dekhna padta hai. Kuch kaha iska main izzat karta hu, baaki majbooriyon se toh main uspe nahi kahunga.” (Everyone must have compulsions. So I would not like to get into that. One has to look back and forth, right and left. I respect what is said, but I will not talk about other compulsions.)
About Sonam Wangchuk’s Hunger Strike
Sonam Wangchuk staged a 26-day hunger strike to seek justice for NEET-UG students affected by the alleged paper leak. The protest, which began on June 6 at Jantar Mantar in collaboration with the satirical youth movement Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), took a toll on his health and resulted in significant muscle loss. He was reported to have lost around 11 kg during the strike. His protest primarily called for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
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Following intense nationwide student protests and growing controversy over the alleged examination irregularities, Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on July 25.