The Chronicles Of The 4.5 Gang (Season 1)
Introduction
There is always a notion of glorifying the gangster in a film of the genre – be it through the use of guns or gore or even a cigar protruding from the protagonist’s mouth, that is meant to titillate the viewers. Director Krishand uses this theme almost as a parody of sorts in his new Malayalam show The Chronicles Of The 4.5 Gang aka Sambhava Vivaranam Nalarasangham, subjecting his protagonist Arikuttan (Sanju Sivram) to interact with a local writer Maitreyan (Jagadish) in order to write his biography. It isn’t clear as to why Arikuttan wants his autobiography to be written (to begin with) – but the end goal is same, to glorify his actions and his life, and to make him feel like a larger than life figure. It may also seem like a parody of a yesteryear superstar narrating his life stories to a top director, only for the latter to make a blockbuster film in 2018 which people regard as a whitewashing PR exercise (join the dots to crack the puzzle). But the bottom line is simple – through the course of the drama, you are subjected to literally the chronicles of the 4.5 gang – the name coined by the writer given how it comprises of a vertically challenged individual Moonga (Sachin Joseph Kalarickal), who ironically remains the most aggressive.
Story & Screenplay
The drama opens with a thrilling cold open wherein Arikuttan finds himself in the middle of a gold heist in the year 2004. But given the nature of the drama that unfolds in chapters, it is rather self-aware of the makers to incorporate a line that states that – how does it even matter where the story must begin from, even as the drama consistently oscillates between multiple timelines. So you Arikuttan returning to the town after 14 years of his friend Althaf (Niranj Maniyanpillaraja) who was once a part of his gang but now is a tea-seller, in order to meet Maithreyen. But once he begins narrating his story to Maithreyen, just so that the latter could modify it and create an illusion of empathy making Arikuttan a victim of the circumstances also with respect to a fictional setting (Thiruvananthapuram becomes Thiruvanjipuram), the drama shifts timelines to his childhood wherein you are introduced to his chums – Altaf, Moonga, Kanji (Sreenath Babu) and Maniyan (Shambhu Suresh), all of whom study together.
It is interesting that the first tryst with a conflict for the 5 youngsters (4.5 as per Maithreyen), was with respect to a joke passed on their manhood. It is an interesting irony that the writers present here – given how all gangster films are catered to the alpha male with toxic traits presented to be cool. The tone is instantly set to be zany, but the actions of the characters are serious. It is almost similar to the balanced tone achieved by Anurag Kashyap with Gangs Of Wasseypur (2012), particularly with respect to the characters. The characteristics are zany but their actions are serious – how else would you expect a character to be named Bruce Lee (Alexander Prasanth) who is the local mafia while his subordinate is named Pyelakuttan (Vishnu Agasthya) – almost like naming Gabbar Singh ‘Pinky’ (😂).
This is in many ways a coming of story for the members of the gang lead by Arikuttan whose simple conflict remains the revenge of his father Clerk Balachandran (Indrans) who was the sole member caught in a gang featuring Bruce Lee and Pyalekuttan, in a hilarious sequence of an ATM robbery. In fact, the first attempt at extracting revenge is met with an Uno Reverse card in a hilarious manner that sees Bruce Lee stab a local corrupt police inspector SI Suresh (Rahul Rajagopal). And yet, the coming of age story in the world of crime is kickstarted when the latter employs these young boys for personal gains. And that basically means that the youngsters grow in confidence, but also in ambition even as they slowly branch out into the milk and flower industry – another zany reference to harmless crimes that allow the characters to grow in stature.
The self-aware tone of the drama is evident when the ‘narration’ deviates into the love stories of Arikuttan and Maniyan. At regular intervals, you see Maithreyan (who is writing the biography) sighing on why is there a need for a love story suddenly, only later to warm up to the narrative and add the love angles on his own given the presence of female readers. Absolutely hilarious, while being a subtle commentary on how film scripts are tweaked in order to expand the demographic, without realising that they stray away from the core material in the process. There are a dozen meta-references of a superstar too (who is adorned by the members of the gang) – again a metaphor for several ‘indie’ actors on the show that have all the abilities to be superstars themselves, while never making the plot ‘all about themselves’ – unlike most superstars of the country. And how in the world were they able to pull off a spoof on actual Malayali superstars at the backend of the show? Bold, I tell you!
There is a clear idea to whitewash the image of the protagonists in question – given how it increasingly becomes hard to sympathize with them, given their growing stature in the world of crime that also includes a couple of murders along the way. Even when a high profile Flower mafia is murdered and you have his wife Ramani (Darshana Rajendran) seeking revenge against the group, your sympathies are with her, and not really the gang members who carried out the murder only to impose themselves in the field. But what works in the favour of the protagonists is the zany tone that is maintained to define their characters – be it their tryst with a gold heist, or upgrading themselves as a milk mafia, or their showdown with a tamil goon only to be smacked later on, or even lacing their antics with goofy undertones (you see a sparkler being inserted in a character in order to stab him). The chronicles meet with an emotional ending following an extended action sequence, but the smallest of criticisms of the show was with the finale – they emotions didn’t connect due to its zany undertones in adjacent scenes. Barring that, this remained a zany gangster drama that will keep you invested and hysterically laughing, through and through.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are quirky and often connect with the intended humour presented in the drama. The music and BGM are pulsating while brilliantly doing their bit to elevate the drama at various junctures. Even the sound design is used as a medium for humour – a serial title card sung by one of the characters is hilariously presented at a separate occasion in a scene. I have always been impressed with the cinematography in a Krishand film, simply because he utilizes the audio-visual medium just so well. Here, the frames employ many techniques from firm close-ups to split-screens to even transitioning mediums to merge to scenes together – and all of which reeks of the quirky nature of the drama backed by superb production design. The same applies to the zany editing pattern that always ties the drama together, while unfolding in conjuction with the humour of the show. So the self-aware tone moderates the editing style too – making it appear as a well thought out deviation as opposed to reducing it to fragments.
Director Krishand is a master of visual storytelling, and he brilliantly scores with yet another gem after Aavasavyuham (2022) and Purusha Pretham (2023). His style is unique even when treading in a commercial space – always keeping the zany and quirky nature of the characters intact, even in the most serious situations created. And that doesn’t allow the viewers to take them too seriously, almost doubling up the entire proceedings like a parody of sorts. This makes for a wonderful watch that is powered by genius filmmaking that is always self aware and self deprecating with its sense of humour.
Performances
The performances are wonderful to witness by the members of the ensemble cast. The veterans Indrans as Clerk Bakachandran, Jagadish as Maithreyan (hilariously brilliant to the core) and Vijayaraghavan as Vamshi are superb to witness in their respective characters. Sai Gayathri, Gowri, Zhinz Shan as Stalin, Anilraj KS, Krishand (as superstar Vikraman) and Ketaki Narayan have their moments to shine. Hakkim Shajahan as Valsan is first rate despite a limited screen time. Santhy Balachandran aa Kingini has a pleasant personality onscreen, and she does a good job here with the right amounts of quirkiness. Zarin Shihab as Pranitha is nicely understated and makes her presence felt. Darshana Rajendra as Ramani is brilliantly intimidating, using her expressive eyes and poise to great effect.
Alexander Prasanth as Bruce Lee and Vishnu Agasthya as Pyelakuttan have such brilliant quirks to their serious characters, and they are literally having a ball here while wonderfully contributing to the humour of the show. Likewise, Padakkam Unni as Anoop – the gangster with a burnt face is tremendous to witness with the quirks incorporated in his character. Rahul Rajagopal as SI Suresh is superb too and provides ample moments of quirk and laughter throughout the show.
Shambhu Suresh as Maniyan is excellent here in a character that is quirky but also has a strong emotional core with respect to his ‘alternate’ crime-free career and his love life. Niranj Maniyanpillaraja as Althaf is sincere and earnest here and that is a trait that also makes his character affable. Sachin Joseph Kalarickal as Moonga is a dynamite and he infuses a lot of synergy to the proceedings with his raw act. Sreenath Babu as Kanji is ruthless and you see him gaining stature with respect to the raw crimes he commits along the way. And this ruthless energy is wonderfully represented through his callous body language.
Sanju Sivram as Arikuttan delivers a measured performance that comes across as subtly chilling with subtle bouts of humour along the way. There is an understated quality of his character to stay grounded in the moment even while getting ambitious, or alternately providing a subtle quirk with respect to his dynamics with his father. These are subtle variations for a performer, but it goes a long way in proving his mettle in front of the camera. And Sanju does exactly that! He is a treat to witness here in a moderately chilling character with high ambitions.
Conclusion
The first season of The Chronicles Of The 4.5 Gang is a zany and quirky gangster drama backed by solid performances that makes for a brilliant watch laced with bouts of humour. Available on SonyLiv and Highly Recommended!