Filmmaker Kiran Rao has changed her Instagram display picture to an illustration reading "I support Sonam" in a show of solidarity with the Ladakh-based innovator and climate activist, as his hunger strike at Delhi's Jantar Mantar entered its 20th day on Friday.
Wangchuk has been fasting at the protest site since June 28, in solidarity with the Gen Z-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), whose members are demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over NEET UG exam paper leak that affected millions of students.
The sit-in at Jantar Mantar, near Parliament, has been described as one of the more sustained shows of defiance against government in recent years.
Wangchuk's health has drawn growing concern in recent days.
Opposition leaders have urged him to end the fast as his condition worsens, while a young protester who had also been on hunger strike at the site fainted earlier this week and was hospitalised.
In a video update posted from the protest site, Wangchuk said he was "not in good shape but not so bad either," and appealed to supporters not to ask him to break his fast but instead join a planned peaceful march to Parliament on July 20.
ALSO READ: Sonam Wangchuk Hunger Strike: Delhi HC Tells Centre To Monitor Health, Says 'Life Is Precious'
The Ladakh-based reformist, whose life partly inspired the character Phunsukh Wangdu in the Bollywood film "3 Idiots," has a long history of hunger strikes over causes ranging from Ladakh's statehood demand to the region's inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
His current fast marks a shift toward backing the Gen Z-led protest movement over education accountability.
Rao's gesture adds a prominent voice from Hindi cinema to the growing list of public figures expressing support for Wangchuk as pressure mounts on the government ahead of the planned march.
The filmmaker, known for directing "Dhobi Ghat" and producing several acclaimed films, has not issued a separate statement beyond the profile picture change so far.
ALSO READ: Sonam Wangchuk Health Update: Hunger Strike Enters 18th Day Amid PIL Seeking Medical Intervention
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