Bollywood has often turned to India's mythology and epics for inspiration, but Gitanjali Angmo believes the industry could do far more with the country's vast storytelling heritage.
The social entrepreneur and wife of activist Sonam Wangchuk recently reflected on Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, drawing parallels between the Hollywood epic and themes deeply embedded in Indian storytelling.
Angmo's comments have arrived at a time when conversations around Indian cinema, mythology and the responsibility of filmmakers have gained fresh momentum.
Gitanjali Angmo On Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey
After watching The Odyssey, Angmo took to X to describe the experience as surreal, particularly because she had previously met Nolan in New York in 2024. She noted that the film's central ideas, including the hero's journey, destiny, exile, temptation, homecoming and transformation, felt strikingly familiar to the Indian imagination. For Angmo, the comparison also highlighted the enormous potential of India's own epics. She argued that Indian stories deserve adaptations that combine scale with sensitivity and intellectual depth, while stressing that cinema can influence how audiences understand their history and culture.
Her comments effectively turned the success of Nolan's epic into a larger question for Bollywood: if global filmmakers can build ambitious cinema around ancient stories, why shouldn't India do the same with its own?
Why Her Remarks Come Amid The Sonam Wangchuk Debate
Angmo's comments also come against the backdrop of the recent controversy surrounding Sonam Wangchuk's protest for education reforms. Wangchuk undertook a 26-day hunger strike at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, seeking changes to India's examination system following the NEET paper-leak controversy. The protest also saw demands for the resignation of then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The episode triggered discussion around Bollywood's response, particularly because of the long-standing association between Wangchuk and 3 Idiots.
Aamir Khan, 3 Idiots Connection Revisited
The debate intensified after actor Omi Vaidya, who played Chatur in 3 Idiots, publicly backed Wangchuk's campaign. Aamir Khan subsequently addressed the perceived connection between the film and Wangchuk during an interaction at the British Film Institute, saying the belief that the movie was directly based on the activist was a misconception. He maintained that he, director Rajkumar Hirani and writer Abhijat Joshi did not know Wangchuk while making the film, while acknowledging his work.
A video of Aamir meeting Wangchuk in 2008 later resurfaced online, reigniting the debate. Meanwhile, Nolan's The Odyssey, starring Matt Damon as Odysseus, continues its theatrical run after releasing globally on July 17.