That is not just in Bollywood. Every movie maker does that, in Hollywood, and all over the world.

The reason is that when adapting a true story but not telling it exactly as it was, film makers can be liable if they use the real names of the person’s involved unless they get signed permission from those people or their families, in the case of those who are deceased.

The character played by Akshay Kumar was a conglomerate of several of the men who were actually involved in that effort, so since it was altered slightly from the actual happening they gave the characters fictitious names.

But even with that, it remains a remarkable story which needed to be told. I am a non-Indian American and we here in the states never even heard a whisper of this amazing event, even though the actual war was heavily covered here. I for one was very happy to watch that film, have seen it a few times now and find it very uplifting and informative, even though I know some facts were changed for the purpose of film making.

It is one of the movies I recommend to anyone seeking to know more about Bollywood films.