As Sonam Wangchuk’s indefinite hunger strike entered its 18th day on July 15, support from the film fraternity gave the protest a sharper cultural charge. Anurag Kashyap, Omi Vaidya and Swara Bhaskar were among the best-known names to speak up, turning a student-focused agitation at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar into a wider celebrity-backed moment that cut across cinema, music and public life.
Wangchuk has been fasting since June 28 in collaboration with the Cockroach Janta Party, as his protest over examination irregularities and the future of students continues to command national attention. For the entertainment world, the story has now moved beyond solidarity posts. It has become a rare moment where screen personalities are tying their public voice to a protest led by the man who inspired one of Hindi cinema’s most beloved fictional reformers.
Film Voices Turn The Protest Into A Wider Public Moment
Kashyap shared a strongly worded note on Instagram, writing, “There was a time when hunger strike had some meaning. People don’t go on hunger strike just like that. It’s really troubling when the system becomes so indifferent to people’s lives.”
He added, “Only a man as empathetic and a believer of truth and justice has the courage to do that. I don’t have the courage to do what Sonam Wangchuk is doing. But the silence from the powers to be is deafening to the point that it is proof of their guilt and their murderous intent. I stand with the brave heart that Sonam Wangchuk is.”
Swara Bhaskar also visited Wangchuk at Jantar Mantar on July 14 and shared her support publicly. In her post, she wrote, “Thank you Sonam Wangchuk ji and @cockroachjanta for fighting for the future of children.” That direct endorsement placed her alongside a growing list of artists who have publicly aligned themselves with the protest.
Zeenat Aman, Soni Razdan, Abhay Deol, Naseeruddin Shah, Prakash Raj and Chinmayi Sripaada also voiced support in different ways across social media and public appearances. Among the strongest reactions came from singer Chinmayi Sripaada, who wrote on X, “Please, someone get Mr Wangchuk to call off his fast. The NEET students themselves, exhausted as they are with paper leaks and re-exams, don’t have Sonam Wangchuk on their minds.” She further added, “Dharmendra Pradhan or his bosses couldn’t care a damn if Wangchuk fasted till the end.”
Why Omi Vaidya’S Phunsukh Wangdu Reference Hit Home
Omi Vaidya’s message carried a particularly emotional cinematic resonance. In a video shared on July 14, the 3 Idiots actor said, “I don’t want Phunsukh Wangdu to die.” The line instantly connected the current protest to Wangchuk’s most visible pop culture legacy, his role as the real-life inspiration behind Aamir Khan’s Phunsukh Wangdu in 3 Idiots.
That is what gives this wave of celebrity backing its unusual force. This is not just a cluster of routine endorsements. It is a moment where actors, filmmakers and musicians are invoking a figure who already lives in the public imagination through cinema, and using that connection to pull fresh attention toward a real-world protest now entering a critical stage.
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