Engineer, educator and environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk is in news for his indefinite hunger strike over the alleged NEET paper leak and is in its 18th day. Minister of Education is wanted Dharmendra According to Pradhan’s resignation, Wangchuk has lost more than 8 kg since the protest began on June 28, while a drop in his blood pressure has raised concerns about his health. As messages of support poured in from across the country, actor Omi Vaidyawho played in Chatur Ramalingam 3 idiotsshared an emotional post that read, “I don’t want Phunsukh Wangdu to die.”Omi’s reference to Phunsukh Wangdu ignited a long-standing debate 3 idiots. Although many viewers have joined Aamir KhanSonam Wangchuk’s character, the education reformer has repeatedly denied being the inspiration behind the role. He has maintained that he was never consulted during the making of the film, never gave permission for his life or work to be used, and never received a response after writing to the filmmakers for clarification. “They secretly came to my school to shoot the film,” he once claimed.During a Josh Talks session, Wangchuk recalled how he first discovered the connection people were making between him and 3 idiots. “I’m worried because people keep asking me, ‘Is your school the one 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 movies, I work in real life. I work on innovations that can reach from India to the world and make our country proud.”Explaining why he rarely talks about the film, Wangchuk said he doesn’t want to create a false narrative. “Many journalists and young people ask me about the film. I desperately want to tell them that I have nothing to do with it. But that would also be a lie.”He continued to recount the meeting aamir Khan in Mumbai in 2008 while receiving a CNN-IBN award for his work on education in Ladakh. According to Wangchuk, he used the opportunity to pitch an idea for a film focusing on the Siachen conflict.“I said to him, ‘Can you make a film about the tension in Siachen, where countries fight over a piece of ice while spending almost Rs 7 crore every day?’ Can we show that ordinary people in both countries are solving the problem and the money is being used for education?” Wangchuk said, adding that Aamir listened attentively and also watched an audio-visual during the presentation.Shortly after the award ceremony, Wangchuk traveled to France to study Earth Architecture. It was only after 3 idiots released the following year he realized that people believed the film was based on his life. “People said to me, ‘The movie based on you is great’. I was shocked. They also said they had shown my school.”Intrigued, he contacted his school and learned that a film crew had visited the campus, but had not revealed the identity of the project. “They were planning to bring a lot of plastic material, so we denied permission. Later, they shot at another nearby school.”Despite the similarities, Wangchuk said he consciously refrained from publicly challenging the filmmakers because they were already facing a dispute with the author. Chetan Bhagat. “I didn’t want people to think I was also trying to get money from filmmakers.”Instead, he waited until the legal deadline for seeking compensation had passed before writing to the producers, reminding them that he had met Aamir before the film’s production and expressing his disappointment at not being consulted. “They never responded. I don’t expect them to either. I have better things to do in life.”Wangchuk also questioned the country’s priorities, arguing that celebrity culture often overshadows real-life achievements. “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.”