1983-Facts and Fiction

Tiny missable Jimmy-Maddi moments in 83

1. When Kaps says, "Jaan maangne se yaad ayi, Lala ji se baat huyi hai aaj?", Jimmy panics--"Mai abhi karke aata hu"--shoves his gloves and bat into Maddi's hands--"Samaan pakad!"--before taking off at a run

(I find the way Maddi almost buckles trying to hold them all sweet, but then I find every single appearance of Maddi pa sweet in this movie)

2. In the first match vs WI, during the first over, with Andy Roberts launching bullets at Sunny and the latter just dodging them, the team balcony looks on, tense; Jimmy and Maddi glance at each other for some reason around Kapil's head

3. As the team troops in, dispirited after their 166-run loss to Australia, Maddi sits down on one of the beds and Jimmy joins him, right beside him, even though there was a lot of empty space around

(Yeah, I am reading too much into simple things, but as my favourite characters of 83 and favourite players of the 70s and 80s, I want Mohinder Amarnath and Madan Lal to be close)

4. In the High Commission party, during Mr. Frith's conversation with Romi and Kapil, and the beginning of Cheeka starting to talk to Mr. Frith, Jimmy and Maddi were talking and laughing with each other in the background (did you notice?) 

5. "Pehla World Cup final khel rahe ho yaar, muskura do..." Kapil goes.

Dilip and Sunny were the only ones who manage a tiny, fake smile each; the other two seniors don't.

"Arey muskura do yaar..."

An unsmiling Jimmy glances at Maddi, who glances back, also unsmiling. But maybe they were both trying to gauge if they should try harder to smile, when their captain, 8-9 years their junior, was trying so hard.

A/N: If anyone had noticed all five of these, I might accept them as an 83Head equal to me. Watched 83 in the hall for the 6th time yesterday, and for the first time, my eyes were constantly on the alert for Maddi's appearances (mostly it's always for Jimmy's), because as I said, my love for Maddi pa is increasing exponentially every time I watch it.

A sweet video I watched yesterday triggered this fierce Jimmy-Maddi obsession, though...in an interview of Kirti, Kapil, Jimmy and Maddi of mid-2021 (before the split captaincy debacles), the interviewer asked Madan Lal, "Do you think there should be one captain in all three formats?"

Maddi pa goes, very firmly in favour of Virat, without taking his name, that the person who is playing all three formats and leading India is perfectly fine for the role. Then he seemed to realize he'd said it too firmly, and maybe with a slight anti-BCCI stance, so he stammers to add, "I'm not saying things shouldn't change, I'm just saying they're fine this way..."

And Jimmy laughed and patted him on the back, which was adorable. 

They are adorable.