There are movies. And there are movies that grab you by the collar and shake you up and you leave the Cinemax with the movie lingering on in your mind. That is the kind of movie `22 Female Kottayam’ belongs to. Let me begin by applauding the effort put in by Ashiq Abu and team.

Of late, there have been many `new age’ Malayalam films focussing on issues concerning the youth of Kerala. Very few of them were impressive. With 22FK, it seems like an evolution process has come to a logical conclusion.

Tessa K Abraham is a nurse in Bangalore trying to make it big abroad. She meets Cyril and Cupid strikes. But looks can be deceptive. The film takes a dramatic U-turn and you witness one of the best revenge flicks in Malayalam since ‘Season’. The movie has been inspired by Kill Bill and Ek Hasina thi, which is shown in the filmography in the end credits. And I adore revenge flicks especially if they are poetic.

22 FK is bold. It’s not just bold in openly saying things that are taboo in our conservative society. There are ‘new age films’ who try to be bold only in style. But here the plot and the characters are bold. 22 FK is about the women who try to make a difference in their life, their struggle dealing with men and about how their personalities evolve. A women emancipation film at its core. 22 FK strips our male chauvinist society naked. The matter of fact depiction of life is convincing.

Ashiq Abu is a guy who is getting better and better with each movie he makes. After `Daddy Cool’ and `Salt n Pepper’, with 22FK, Abu has shown his true potential. Abhilash Kumar and Shyam Pushkaran have done splendid work with the script and dialogues. They are not cheesy lines but refreshing and spontaneous.

Title song by Avial introduces a fresh feel. The background score is innovative.

Performances by Rima Kallingal and Fahad are awesome. I say it again, Rima has given us our own Biatrix Kiddo with this flick. She celebrates womanhood and I really feel she will go places with her performance. And Fahad has become the young face of Malayalam films. 

22FK is not a movie you should go as a family but it is a movie that every one of us must watch and reflect upon, appreciate the different women in our lives, try not to take them for granted and accept them for who they are.

22 FK is a celebration of womanhood. I rate it as a `Must Watch’.

(Vishnu Vishwanath blogs at popcorncousins.wordpress.com)