He even found a of Manekshaw meeting soldiers in the snow, saying, “If you fear death, never wear this uniform.” That line was verbatim in the movie.

Arjun then uploaded his own edit—superimposing movie clips next to the real footage—back to the Internet Archive under the title “Sam Bahadur: Cinema vs History.” Within months, it became a reference for film students and war historians.

There it was: —a crackling, black-and-white recording uploaded by a retired journalist’s estate. In it, the real Manekshaw laughed about the 1971 war: “The Pakistanis asked me, ‘When will you attack?’ I said, ‘I don’t know—ask my logistic officer!’”

Arjun then found a from All India Radio, announcing the surrender in Dhaka. The announcer’s voice trembled with joy. Next, a declassified military document —a PDF scan of Manekshaw’s actual handwritten note to Indira Gandhi: “Madam, give me a month to prepare, and I’ll give you Bangladesh.”