With The Chronicles of the 4.5 Gang, Krishand delivers something that’s both eccentric and oddly immersive, without losing touch with where it comes from — the streets, lanes, and quirks of Thiruvananthapuram.
The series stems with a gang of misfits—four and a half, to be exact—wants one thing: respect. They strategise to take over the local temple festival. What unfolds from there isn’t clean or polished, but that’s the point. The narrative sidesteps big, cinematic moments and leans instead into awkward chaos, petty gangsters, and hyper-specific city politics. It’s a mess, but it’s their mess.
The real hook is the local flavour. The way people speak, move, argue, and plan — nothing feels filtered for an audience outside Kerala. That’s precisely what makes it inviting. It doesn’t explain itself. You’re dropped into this world and expected to keep up. You do.
The humour is dry, sometimes so dry it feels like it might crack. But when it lands, it lands well. Krishand’s writing isn’t trying to entertain in the usual sense. It’s observational, textured, and more interested in tone than twists. Some moments feel like inside jokes between the filmmaker and the city itself.
The cast—Jagadish, Indrans, Vijayaraghavan, Darshana Rajendran, Santhy Balachandran, and Hakkim Shahjahan—understand the rhythm of this world. No one’s overacting, no one’s playing it safe either. Performances blend into the narrative without begging for attention.
Vishnu Prabhakar’s cinematography doesn’t go flashy. It captures mood and space more than beauty. Music by Sooraj Santhosh and Varkey is atmospheric, never loud. Sasi Kumar’s editing is sharp where it needs to be, loose where it helps.
There’s no attempt to wrap the story in a neat bow, and that’s refreshing. It’s not just quirky for the sake of it — there’s structure underneath the absurdity. Krishand isn’t trying to universalize this story. He’s made something that belongs exactly where it is. And that choice pays off.
The Chronicles of the 4.5 Gang, produced by Jomon Jacob is flawed, yes. But it’s original, grounded, and doesn’t talk down to its audience. That alone makes it worth watching.
IWMBuzz rates it 4/5 stars.
The Chronicles of the 4.5 Gang is currently streaming on Sony LIV.
