Sangarsha Ghadana - The Art of Warfare

Rating - 3.5/5

A raw,realistic gangster drama adapted from 'Sung Tzu's Art of Warfare' that stands out with its distinct narrative approach and making style.

The plot of the story revolves through the lives of an inert gang leader and his affiliates facing a threat from a new gang and the parallel police investigation in the backdrop forms the crux of the story.

Krishand has pulled off a sharp and distinct story through an inquisitive narrative hooking the audience with sarcasm, thug dialogues and continuous voiceover highlighting the art and tactics of the sensational battles of the world and the attitude of the warriors in the battlefield. The way he has layered the screenplay shows how deep he has dug into the story premise setting and perfectly envisioned it on screen. Kudos to the filmmakers for the impressive casting in the movie.

Subtle performances by Vishnu Agasthya & Sanup Padaveedan carrying the right attitude and stance. Zhinz Shan, Rahul Rajagopal & the Senior Police officer are the real show stealers with their stunning performances. Mridula Murali, Jain Andrews,Ponman Varghese, Jayesh, Silesh, Sreenath Babu & Megha Krishnan gave poignant performances.

Splendid visualisation by Prayag Mukundan matching the mood of the story perfectly trimmed by the captain himself. Rajesh Naroth's Chinese influenced Background scores and music added the flavour of the novel adaptation reminding us of the battles with Arjun Menon's thoughtful colour grading enhanced the visual experience. Hats off to the Sound designer Prashant Menon & the man who has given the voiceover with a thunderous and powerful modulation.

A must watch experience if you are an ardent follower of Krishand's filmography.

I went into this masterpiece expecting the signature world-building and style of its director, Krishand, and it fulfilled all of my expectations.

The movie is based on Sun Tzu's *The Art of War*, but it portrays these concepts through the lens of a simple revenge story. The internal elements of the plot connect wisely and wonderfully to the book's teachings. It was a completely different approach, converting a revenge plot into a war-style narrative, complete with future consequences and real-time events that ultimately explain the film's climax.

All the performances were strong, and the dark comedy was handled very well. On a technical level, the cinematography by Prayag Mukundan and the color grading were great. However, the biggest highlight for me was the background music by Rajesh Naroth-what an incredible score! The entire movie is presented in a Chinese-inspired style, and the music perfectly matched this aesthetic, even during the fight scenes.