Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Gitanjali Angmo, social entrepreneur and wife of activist Sonam Wangchuk, has urged Bollywood to rethink the way it tells India’s epic stories, saying cinema should be more than entertainment. Her remarks came after watching Christopher Nolan’s latest film, The Odyssey, which she said reflected themes deeply rooted in the Indian imagination.
Describing her experience of watching The Odyssey, Angmo wrote that it felt “surreal” to see on screen an idea she had once discussed with Nolan.
“Watched Odyssey yesterday. Surreal to see on screen what was still a conversation when I accidentally met Christopher Nolan in New York in 2024. Its themes feel so familiar to the Indian imagination: the hero’s journey, dharma and destiny, exile, temptation, homecoming, the human being tested and transformed along the way (sic),” she wrote on X.
She went on to say that India has no shortage of stories worthy of cinematic adaptation and urged Bollywood to approach them with greater ambition.
“India is sitting on a treasure-house of such epics. Imagine bringing them to cinema with scale, sensitivity and intellectual depth. Cinema is more than entertainment. It shapes minds. Perhaps Bollywood needs to rediscover its role as one of our most powerful classrooms (sic),” she added.
Angmo also shared a photograph with Nolan, recalling an unexpected meeting with the filmmaker in New York in 2024.
Read her full post here:
Angmo’s remarks come against the backdrop of the recent public debate surrounding Sonam Wangchuk’s hunger strike for education reforms and Bollywood’s response to the movement.
Last month, Wangchuk observed a 26-day hunger strike at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, demanding the resignation of then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and seeking reforms in India’s examination system following the NEET paper leak.
During the protest, many expected actor Aamir Khan to publicly support Wangchuk, given the long-standing belief that 3 Idiots was inspired by the activist’s life. The discussion intensified after actor Omi Vaidya, who played Chatur in the film, backed Wangchuk’s campaign.
Responding to the claims during an interaction at the British Film Institute, Aamir said he was unaware of Wangchuk when 3 Idiots 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,” he said. Aamir added that neither director Rajkumar Hirani nor writer Abhijat Joshi knew Wangchuk while making the film, though he praised the activist’s work and said it deserved respect irrespective of any connection to the movie.
Watch the clip here:
Soon after, a video showing Aamir meeting Wangchuk in 2008, a year before the release of 3 Idiots, resurfaced online, prompting fresh questions over the actor’s statement and renewing criticism over his silence during the protest.
Wangchuk ended his hunger strike on July 24 after meeting Union Health Minister JP Nadda and other government representatives. Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as Union Education Minister on July 25, bringing the protest to a close while the debate over Bollywood’s response continued.
Meanwhile, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is currently having a dream run in theatres globally. Starring Matt Damon as Odysseus, the film released in theatres on July 17.
– Ends
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
