Sonam Wangchuk hits back at Aamir Khan's 'never met' claim with witty Ghajini jibe

Activist Sonam Wangchuk, actor Aamir Khan, 3 Idiots (2009), Phunsuk Wangdu and Ghajini (2008) are at the centre of a fresh exchange after the Ladakhi activist responded to the actor's claim that they had not met when Rajkumar Hirani's film was being made. Wangchuk said there had been an earlier interaction between them.

Speaking to YouTuber Prakhar Gupta on his podcast, Wangchuk recalled an old event where both were present, taking a playful Ghajini jibe at Aamir Khan. He joked that the actor might have forgotten their meeting due to short-term memory loss, noting Aamir was sporting his Ghajini look at the time.

The exchange follows Khan's earlier comments at an event, where he called it a misconception that Phunsuk Wangdu in 3 Idiots was based on Sonam Wangchuk. The actor said he was not aware of Wangchuk when the film was being made and added that neither Rajkumar Hirani nor writer Abhijat Joshi knew about the activist at the time.

Wangchuk, however, said videos later surfaced showing Khan watching one of his speeches.

"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 Ghajini character that he suffered short-term memory loss and forgot about it within 15 seconds. So, I'm not surprised. Otherwise, we had met in great detail," he said.

The reference was to Khan's look in the 2008 film Ghajini, in which he played Sanjay Singhania, a character who suffers from short-term memory loss and can retain new memories only briefly.

Wangchuk said their interaction was not limited to a brief introduction and that they had spoken at length.

"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," he said.

He also clarified his position on the long-running 3 Idiots debate. Wangchuk said he would not describe the film as a direct recording of his life or a biography, but added that he saw his interaction with Khan as a possible source of influence.

According to Wangchuk, Khan may have taken some of the ideas discussed during their meeting, shared them with his team and later developed them differently for the film. He also said the rest of the team may not have known where those ideas came from.

Wangchuk highlighted that the co-writers and director probably didn't realise the actor brought those ideas from their discussion, adding that he wasn't bothered by it and preferred to move on.

Meanwhile, Khan recently produced Batwara 1947 (2026), under his banner Aamir Khan Productions. The Rajkumar Satoshi directorial featured actors Sunny Deol, Preity Zinta, Shabana Azmi, Karan Deol and Ali Fazal in key roles.