They often don’t hire advisors and hence uniforms, medals and ribbons are most of the time inaccurate.

What do our films lack? Almost everything. There have been no serious films on the Indian Army. It was an accurate representation of the military on the big screen. “Most of the films on the Indian Army are exaggerated, fictionalised and extremely emotional, however, if I have to name one film then I’d pick Tango Charlie, which was not about the Indian Army, but the Border Security Force (BSF). ‘Most such films are exaggerated, fictionalised and extremely emotional, but if I had to pick one, I’d pick Tango Charlie’ From Haqeeqat’s portrayal of a soldier’s personal values to Lakshya’s exploration of the impact of war on a soldier and those around him - veterans list their favourite Bollywood film on the Indian Army over the years. Still, now and then, there have been films that broke the mould and that continue to stand the test of time, they say. Lt General (retd) HS Panag adds, 'The inner being of a soldier is never explored in Hindi films, like it is in a Saving Private Ryan and other Hollywood films on the military.' For example, stories about the fury of combat, a soldier who objects to war, existence during war or how it impacts a soldier hardly ever figure in our films, say officers. These feelings of patriotism are in every soldier, but it's an emotion that’s omnipresent in the background,' say veterans.Over the years, films on the Indian Army have technically improved and makers use CGI, VFX, and other special effects to make scenes look realistic, but the storylines are still lacking. 'Nobody in the Army talks about patriotism and love for the motherland in loud, aggressive and grand declarations, as shown in Hindi films.

From getting the uniforms, ranks and operation procedures wrong, to unnecessary dialoguebaazi and overblown violence - Army veterans have a long list of pet peeves when it comes to Bollywood war movies.

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