‘Metro Paramo’, art house romance by Rahman Brothers, explores urban loneliness

Metro Paramo, a film by Shinos Rahman and Sajas Rahman, is a quiet love story that refuses to give up on you. It lingers, making you ponder over the characters and their existential angst. It takes its own time to unfold, and is gentle and compelling in curious ways.

A food delivery girl and a solo stage performer (played by Ameesha Yashica), who dreams of becoming an actor one day, falls in love with a “light and sound” boy (played by Siju Wilson), in a rather unremarkable setting. She is sure of herself, while he is troubled by his fear of heights.

Both are loners, caught in the incessant loop of routine. They find an unexpected spark and what ensues is a string of bright days dusted with the warmth of new love. While he fills her life with colour, she helps him find himself.

Just as it is often in life, the connection fades, and their lives fall asunder. The film is an intimate exploration of the fleeting nature of love set in an unfeeling city. Despite their intense emotions and heartbreak, the characters go about their lives on autopilot.

A conscious deviation from usual cinematic tropes, Metro Paramo has only few dialogues and the sound is experimental, the rumble of the city forming a permanent backdrop. Independent film makers Shinos and Sajas, better known as Rahman Brothers, are committed to exploring various dimensions within the craft of filmmaking.

Their debut feature, Toymaker (Kalippattakkaran, 2014), was experimental in nature, centred around a young man, who makes toys out of waste materials and how he navigates life. Told through a blend of fantasy and reality, the film won critical acclaim and was released on Netflix.

Born and brought up in Aluva, Shinos and Sajas were exposed early on to the aesthetics of art house cinema; Shinos recalls the days they would watch world cinema across film societies in and around Aluva and Ernakulam. Their parents were members of the Kerala Shastra Sahitya Parishath (KSSP) and through their school days, the brothers were familiar with theatre plays and cultural programmes organised by the KSSP.

Sajas has a post graduation in theatre arts, is a writer and a theatre practitioner, while Shinos is a film video editor and post production head, but their films are a collaborative effort. “Most of the themes we have portrayed in our films contain theatre in some form,” says Shinos.

Their 2020-film Vasanthi has the stage at its core and follows a complex narrative form. The film won the Kerala State Film Awards for best film, screenplay and character actress. Chavittu, their 2022-docu-drama, was a refreshingly new take on the dynamics of a theatre group’s performance.

Inspired by the chavittu kali, a folk art form in the Malabar region, it used natural sound and was filmed without a traditional script. Chavittu won the National film award for Best Audiography and the Kerala State Film Award for second best film, best choreography and audiography.

It was world premiered at the Rotterdam International Film Festival. It was screened at the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM), South Asian Film Festival of Montreal (SAFFM) and the International Theatre Festival of Kerala (ITFOK).

“Our filmmaking style inhabits the space between theatre and cinema. Bhootham (2024), an experimental work, is an abstract film that attempts to push the boundaries of cinematic storytelling. Here, the form tells the story,” says Shinos.

The plot pivots around the listlessness felt by two actors who find themselves washed ashore. Screened at the Independent and Experimental Film Festival of Kerala (IEFFK) in Kozhikode, it was also screened as a part of the recent Kochi Muziris Biennale.

“The thread of the story for Metro Paramo came from a stage where Sajas was to do the lighting. Sajas’ fear of heights often comes up in his role as a light designer. The thought gradually evolved into a story,” says Shinos.

The cinematography by Mukesh Muraleedharan is a vital part of the film’s narrative language. Rather than imposing a visual interpretation on the story, Mukesh lets the camera observe, allowing the city and its rhythms to become an extension of the characters’ inner worlds.

It captures urban loneliness and a sense of melancholy that runs through the narrative. Sound design by Sreejith Sreenivasan and music by Sreevalsan J Menon enhance the cinematic experience. And for those curious about the title, “Metro in Metro Paramo is indicative of the grind of urban reality, while Paramo evokes something vast, high-altitude — an elevated mental landscape which the characters navigate.

Metro Paramo, written, edited and directed by the brothers, is getting ready for its festival run.