Aamir Khan's character Phunsukh Wangdu in '3 Idiots' was admittedly inspired by Sonam Wangchuk an Indian engineer, innovator and education reformist. Wangchuk and his supporters were recently arrested by Delhi Police at the Singhu border. He and his supporters have been protesting for the autonomy of Ladakh, something the Government of India believes will compromise the territorial integrity of India.
The man who inspired Aamir Khan's character in '3 Idiots' is considered a "Chinese pawn" by many commentators. Evidently, some shocking developments have taken place in the last many years and they all hint at a possible Chinese strategy behind the box office success of some Bollywood movies in China.
"Wangchuk has been lionized by foreign forces which are also aligned with the objective of fragmenting India. In 2009, Bollywood director Rajkumar Hirani cast Aamir Khan as Phunsukh Wangdu. '3 Idiots' was released in China two years later, only to “establish” Aamir Khan as a “superstar” in that country. The film even earned him praise from Global Times (this Chinese state media house never praises foreigners just like that). In 2014, 'PK', the controversial Aamir Khan-starter directed by Rajkumar Hirani, became a superhit in China. In 2016, the Aamir Khan-produced 'Dangal' made over $200M in China. In 2017, the Aamir Khan-produced 'Secret Superstar' became a bumper success in China, earning over $100M in the Chinese market. Notably, the Chinese Communist Party tightly controls which films are allowed to release in China. No Indian film before or since has had the unbelievably extraordinary run that 'Dangal' and 'Secret Superstar' in particular had achieved. And now in the 2020s, Sonam Wangchuk, an unknown person turned into an icon by Aamir Khan, is driving a new protest movement against India’s border infrastructure expansion in the Northern frontiers citing “ecological damage” and seeks “autonomy” for Ladakh. Connect the dots. The payoffs are clear. People are not fools," says Rajeev Mantri, an economic commentator.
