*.pdf and *pdf not giving the same results while searching in elasticsearch

It depends on the analyzer used for the fields.
Probably foo.pdf has been indexed as foo, pdf.

If you don't understand, could you provide a full recreation script as described in About the Elasticsearch category. It will help to better understand what you are doing. Please, try to keep the example as simple as possible.

A full reproduction script will help readers to understand, reproduce and if needed fix your problem. It will also most likely help to get a faster answer.