What Is the Story About?
In 2004, a gold heist scars Arikuttan, who, 14 years later, hires a ghostwriter to chronicle his life. His story reveals teenage violence, a milk-smuggling scam, and clashes with a rival gang. After serving time, he rises to power amidst a deadly war for control of the flower trade, but betrayal and a vengeful rival ultimately lead to his downfall, leaving his past a bloody mess.
Performances?
With so many characters, the actors don’t get a chance to prove their mettle; their arcs feel too constrained to make a strong impact. Sanju Sivaram, the face of the show, does a decent job of portraying the gangster through the years and efficiently milks his screen time.
Darshana Rajendran, despite a delayed entry, leaves an impression as a woman driven by vengeance, standing tall in a male bastion. Jagadish gets a more interesting character, providing a bird’s-eye view of the story, and he shines well. Niranj Maniyanpilla Raju is passable in a brief role with little scope. Sreenath Babu, Shambhu, Sachin, Vijayaraghavan, and others do what they can with what they’re offered, but this is far from their best work.
Analysis
Krishand, the brain behind critically acclaimed films like Aasavyuham and Purusha Pretham, returns to the OTT space with Sony LIV’s quirky gangster dramedy, The Chronicles of the 4.5 Gang. The show follows an ageing gangster as he recounts his chaotic life to a screenwriter, reflecting on the choices, friendships, and events that shaped his destiny.
Storytelling is about breaking rules, not always about telling a new story. The key is to change how the viewer experiences it through writing, editing, cinematography, and sound. The Chronicles of the 4.5 Gang attempts to be an alternative gangster saga with a cool visual aesthetic, but it leaves the aftertaste of an overcooked meal packed with a bunch of stray incidents you don’t care about.
The show effectively sets up the context for Arikuttan’s flashback, as he constantly bickers with the screenwriter about smoothing out the less-than-rosy parts of his life. The story’s beats are familiar: a group of aimless college wastrels get entangled in the world of crime because of a cop.
The issue with the show isn’t lazy writing; in fact, it’s profoundly and innovatively so, to a fault. Krishand makes killings look comedic, enhances action sequences with visual humour, and makes unconventional editing choices. He also shows a romantic heart while charting his characters’ love lives and even makes room to discuss why father-son relationships can be devoid of warmth.
While the sequence of events is initially appreciated, the unpredictable and wacky storytelling patterns eventually become too much. The experiments are never given a chance to breathe. The show finds uncanny ways to reimagine revenge, betrayal, and poetic justice, and it screams for attention, yet what you truly seek is some basic coherence.
With each episode, more characters are introduced, and the subplots multiply, making it hard to keep track of their destinies. It’s at these moments you realise that old-fashioned simplicity isn’t a curse for storytelling. The screenwriter, positioned as a third-party listener, acts as the viewer, trying to connect the dots and give some direction to the chaos.
The criticism that the Malayalam film industry is a boys’ club is validated once again. The story is obsessed with men—their bromance, their desperation for power, their need for vengeance, their small victories, and their big regrets. While the show’s re-imagination of tropes on a technical level works, the absence of a strong female lens denies it much-needed nuance.
The Chronicles of the 4.5 Gang is an experimental gangster dramedy that genuinely tries to push the boundaries of the genre by giving it socio-political and cultural context. However, the screenplay is overcooked with subplots, the basic premise is nothing new, and the narrative tricks become repetitive. You ultimately lose the patience to tolerate the clever storytelling toward the end.
Music and Other Departments?
The music, by Sooraj Santhosh and Varkey, with its mix of folk, rock, and metal influences, brings a unique texture to the show and complements the cinematography (Vishnu Prabhakar) and editing (K Sasi Kumar). The action choreography (Shravan Satya) also deserves a lion’s share of the credit for bringing Krishand’s vision to life. The clever, witty one-liners and conversational writing are among the show’s other strengths.
Highlights?
Wacky treatment
Innovatively shot and edited
Action choreography
Drawbacks?
Lacks direction/coherence after a point
Needed more focus; gets distracted by subplots
Storytelling becomes repetitive in later episodes
Did I Enjoy It?
Only in parts
Will You Recommend It?
If you’re a fan of Krishand’s trademark filmmaking style and have a fascination for gangster tales.
The Chronicles of the 4.5 Gang Web Series Review by Binged Bureau
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