Sonam Wangchuk has taken a sharp but humorous jibe at Aamir Khan after the actor denied that the character of Phunsukh Wangdu in 3 Idiots was based on the Ladakhi innovator and education reformer.The exchange began after 3 Idiots actor Omi Vaidya, known for playing Chatur in the Rajkumar Hirani-directed film, questioned Aamir over his silence amid student protests and Wangchuk’s hunger strike.Responding to the controversy, Aamir said he was not aware of Wangchuk when 3 Idiots was being made and rejected the widely held belief that the character of Phunsukh Wangdu was based on the activist.Wangchuk has now responded to Aamir’s remarks and referred to an earlier meeting between the two in a humorous reference to Aamir’s Ghajini character.Sonam WangchukVsAamir KhanOn whose side are you?pic.twitter.com/HWISVORRpt— Keh Ke Peheno (@coolfunnytshirt) August 30, 2026Sonam Wangchuk’s ‘short-term memory loss’ jibe at Aamir KhanSpeaking on YouTuber Prakhar Gupta’s podcast, Wangchuk recalled his interaction with Aamir and referred to videos that later surfaced showing the actor watching one of his speeches while dressed in the Ghajini look.“Uss time jab unhone kaha ki hum toh mile bhi nahi the… Toh baad mein kuch videos aaye jisme woh Ghajini outfit mein mere ek speech ko dekh rahe the. Shayad woh Ghajini outfit mein the toh short-term memory loss hua hoga, 15 second mein bhul gaye honge. Toh, main hairaan nahi hoon. Warna bahut detail mein mile the hum,” Wangchuk said.(At the time, when he said that we had never even met, some videos later surfaced showing him watching one of my speeches while dressed in the Ghajini outfit. Perhaps he was so immersed in the character that he suffered short-term memory loss and forgot within 15 seconds. So, I’m not surprised. Otherwise, we had met in great detail.)Wangchuk continued, “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, jisme main award le raha tha, woh bhi bhul gaye honge. Warna bahut detail mein mile, bahut ideas discuss kiye.”(We often hear that actors get deeply into their characters. Maybe he was 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.)Was 3 Idiots character Phunsukh Wangdu based on Sonam Wangchuk?Wangchuk, however, clarified that he would not claim that 3 Idiots was based on his biography or a recording of his life.Instead, he suggested that his interaction with Aamir could have served as an influence or inspiration for some of the ideas incorporated into the film.According to Wangchuk, Aamir may have taken ideas discussed during their interaction, shared them with his team and subsequently incorporated or modified them while developing the film.“Unhone aisa hi daala hoga toh baaki ke jo unke co-writers ya directors hain unko nahi pata chala hoga ki yeh unhone apna aaj ka idea daala, kahin se aake, milke, baat karke daala. Isse mujhe koi farq nahi padta hai. Jaane do,” Wangchuk said.(If he incorporated it this way, perhaps his co-writers or directors did not realise that he had brought in these ideas after meeting me and discussing them. It doesn’t bother me. Let it go.)What did Aamir Khan say about Sonam Wangchuk?Aamir had rejected the claim while speaking at an event, saying that neither he nor the filmmakers behind 3 Idiots knew about Wangchuk when the movie was being made.“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,” Aamir said.He added that he had recently seen a video of Omi Vaidya discussing the matter.“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,” Aamir said.The remarks have since reignited discussion around the similarities between Wangchuk’s work and the fictional character of Phunsukh Wangdu, as well as the extent to which Wangchuk’s ideas may have influenced 3 Idiots.