Life Of Pi

Synopsis: In Canada, a writer visits the Indian storyteller Pi Patel and asks him to
tell his life story. Pi tells the story of his childhood in Pondicherry, India, and the
origin of his nickname. One day, his father, a zoo owner, explains that the
municipality is no longer supporting the zoo and he has hence decided to move to
Canada, where the animals the family owns would also be sold. They board on a
Japanese cargo ship with the animals and out of the blue, there is a storm,
followed by a shipwrecking. Pi survives in a lifeboat with a zebra, an orangutan, a
hyena and a male Bengal tiger nicknamed Richard Parker. They are adrift in the
Pacific Ocean, with aggressive hyena and Richard Parker getting hungry. Pi needs
to find a way to survive.

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1 EXT. PONDICHERRY ZOO, INDIA, 1961 - DAY 1

CREDITS OVER:
a magical fairy tale world in collage - images
of fantastic creatures striped and spotted, hoofed and
horned.
Goats and warthogs mingle in an open field; a baby giraffe
tries to reach leaves over a fence; rhinos roll happily in
rich red mud, looking like giant muddy boulders, while
nearby, black and white Malayan tapirs cool themselves in
watering holes.
Exotic monkeys with comical faces cling lovingly to one
another, swing from trees, climb over one another, prance and
screech; a probiscus monkey with a 'Jimmy Durante' nose
pointing out through the plane of the screen. Flamingoes
strut about in the aviary, their pink feathers reflected in
the water.
A sloth droops lazily from a tree branch, unfazed, while a
nearby hummingbird zips manically from flower to flower like
Tinkerbell...
... the Pondicherry zoo is a children's paradise nestled in a
botanical garden.
WRITER (V.O.)
You were raised in a zoo?

3 EXT. PONDICHERRY ZOO, INDIA, 1961 - DAY 3

There's a flurry of activity in the animal clinic behind a
monitor lizard that wanders the main path. ZOO WORKERS gather
in the doorway, talking excitedly.
No one notices the lizard.
ADULT PI (V.O.)
Born and raised in Pondicherry, in
what was the French part of India.
My father owned the zoo, and I was
delivered on short notice by a
herpetologist who was there to
check on the Bengal Monitor Lizard.
The zoo owner (FATHER - late 20s) hurries down the path as
quickly as his heavy leg brace will allow and hurries into
the animal clinic.
2.
ADULT PI (V.O.)
Mother and I were both healthy...
The lizard crawls away.
ADULT PI (V.O.)
but the poor lizard escaped and was
trampled by a frightened
cassowary...
5 INT. PI'S HOME, KITCHEN, MONTREAL - DAY 5
A modest row house. There is a French influence to the decor,
along with books and artwork that celebrate the spiritual.
PI PATEL (50 - intelligent, Indo-Canadian) cooks an Indian
meal. The often-skeptical WRITER (late 30s, a disheveled
French Canadian), watches Pi.
ADULT PI:
The way of karma; the way of God.
WRITER:
I assumed your father was a
mathematician - because of your
name.
ADULT PI:
Oh, far from it. I was named after
a swimming pool.
WRITER:
There's a swimming pool named 'Pi?'
ADULT PI:
(He chuckles.)
You see, my uncle, Francis, was
born with too much water in his
lungs. They say the doctor swung
Francis around by the ankles to
clear the water out and that's what
gave him the huge chest and skinny
legs that made him such a great
swimmer.
WRITER:
(Amused.)
Is Francis actually your uncle? He
said he was friends with your
father.
3. PI:
I call him 'Mamaji,' my 'honorary

uncle' - my father's best friend,

my swimming guru.

6 EXT. ASHRAM SWIMMING POOL, PONDICHERRY, 1966 - DAY 6

ADULT PI (V.O.)
I trained with him three times a

week at the ashram. His lessons

would save my life in the end...

A young Indian boy - PI AT AGE FIVE - surfaces from a pool,

gasping. He looks up at the large chest and skinny legs of

Mamaji (late 30s). Mamaji reaches down to scoop Pi out of the

water.

MAMAJI:

A mouthful of water will not harm

you - but panic will.

Mamaji carries Pi back over to the water's edge.

MAMAJI (CONT'D)

Remember to breathe. Don't hold

your breath. Good boy.

Mamaji unceremoniously tosses Pi back in.

7 INT. PI'S HOME, KITCHEN, MONTREAL - DAY 7

ADULT PI:

(Regarding lunch:)

I hope you don't mind vegetarian.

WRITER:

No, not at all... And your name?

ADULT PI:

Hmm?

WRITER:

You - you were going to tell me how

you got your name, I think.

ADULT PI:

I got it from something Mamaji once

told my father. Most travelers

collect postcards or teacups on
their journeys - but not Mamaji.

Mamaji collects swimming pools.

(MORE)

4. ADULT PI (CONT'D)

He swims in every pool he comes

upon...

8 EXT. THE PISCINE MOLITOR, PARIS, 1959 - DAY 8

Mamaji stands admiring the Piscine Molitor, a pool of

sparkling magnificence. Attractive French men and women in

bathing suits, the setting a celebration of idealized beauty.

ADULT PI (V.O.)

One day Mamaji said to my father

that of all the pools in the world,

the most beautiful was a public

pool in Paris. That the water there

was so clear you could make your

morning coffee with it, that a

single swim there changed his life.

Mamaji dives into the crystal clear water - and we follow,

taking in the divine miracle of his underwater journey across

the pool.

ADULT PI (V.O.)

Before I was born, he said to my

father, "If you want your son to

have a clean soul, you must take

him one day to swim in the Piscine

Molitor." I never understood why my

father took this so much to

heart...

9 INT. PI'S HOME, MONTREAL - DAY 9

ADULT PI:

... but he did, and I was named

"Piscine Molitor Patel."

10 EXT. PI'S PRIMARY SCHOOL, 1972 - DAY 10

PI (AGE 11) leans against the railing of a balcony, reading

"L'Ile Mysterieuse (The Mysterious Island)" by Jules Verne.

ADULT PI (V.O.)

Imagine me trying to explain that

name to my schoolmates. I barely

made it to the age of eleven

before...

A boy (BULLY #1) calls up to him from the courtyard below.

5.

BULLY #1
Hey PISCINE!

Pi glances down, all the boys in the courtyard watching him.

BULLY #1 (CONT'D)

Are you Pissing right now?

Pi freezes. The other boys laugh uncontrollably.

ANOTHER BOY:

Look at him he's Pissing!

ADULT PI (VO)

With one word my name went from an

elegant French swimming pool to a

stinking Indian latrine. I was

Pissing everywhere.

11 I/E. SCHOOLYARD, 1972 - DAY 11

BOYS in school uniform kick a ball. Pi attempts to join.

Bully #2 intercepts the pass.

BULLY #2

No Pissing in the schoolyard!

12 INT. SCIENCE CLASS, 1972 - DAY 12

ADULT PI (V.O.)

Even the teachers started doing it -

not deliberately, of course...

SCIENCE TEACHER:

So then - what might occur if we

release gas too quickly? Pissing?

Pi is aghast. Several students splutter and howl, whispering

the slip to others. Laughter ripples around the room, all

eyes on Pi.

BOY:

He said Pissing!

SCIENCE TEACHER:

That's enough - order!

ADULT PI (V.O.)

When we returned the next year for

our first day of school, I was

prepared.

SC. 13 INT. INDIAN HISTORY CLASS, 1973 - DAY 13

Class is held in a large open room. Roll call.

BOY:

Present sir.

HISTORY TEACHER:

Piscine Patel...

PI - AGE 12, rises, crosses to the front.

PI (AT 12)

Good morning. I am Piscine Molitor

Patel, known to all as...

(He writes "PI" on the

board.)

... "Pi," the sixteenth letter of

the Greek alphabet...

Pi writes , then quickly charts out a general notion of the

concept on the chalkboard.

PI (CONT'D)

... which is also used in

mathematics to represent the ratio

of any circle's circumference to

its diameter - an irrational number

of infinite length, usually rounded

to three digits, as...

(He writes "3.14.")

3.14. PI.

Pi underlines his name, faces the class.

HISTORY TEACHER:

Very impressive, Pi. Now sit down.

WRITER (V.O.)

And from then on you were Pi?

ADULT PI (V.O.)

Well, no. Not quite ...

As Pi returns to his seat, Bully #2 leans forward,

whispering:

BULLY #2

Nice try, Pissing.

ADULT PI (V.O.)

But I still had the whole day ahead

of me. French Class was next...

7.
14 INT. FRENCH CLASS, 1973 - DAY 14

Pi repeats his act in French, 3.14159265 on the board.

PI (12)

Je m'appelle Piscine Molitor Patel -

dit'Pi'...

ADULT PI (V.O.)

Then Geography...

15 EXT. GEOGRAPHY CLASS, 1973 - DAY 15

Class is held out of doors in a courtyard. Pi, at a portable

chalkboard, writes and says: 3.14159265358979323846.

PI (12)

These are the first twenty decimal

places of Pi.

ADULT PI (V.O.)

My last class of the day was

Mathematics....

16 INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY, 1973 - DAY 16

A LIBRARIAN runs down the hall, a huge book tucked under his

arm, followed by dozens of students. He reaches Pi's class,

pushes his way through the crowd.

LIBRARIAN:

Slowly, Slowly! Slowly, Slowly!

17 INT. MATH CLASS, 1973 - CONTINUOUS 17

Close on Pi writing digits. Pull back - the entire chalkboard

is filled with numbers. All watching are stunned. The

librarian compares Pi's writing to the math book.

LIBRARIAN:

It is right... He's really doing

this!

Students clap and cheer - even the bullies. Several chant

along with him as he writes:

ALL:

1! 4! 9! 3! 1! PI! PI! PI!

8.

ADULT PI (VO)

By the end of that day, I was Pi

Patel, school legend.

18 INT. PI'S KITCHEN - DAY 18

The writer laughs, then ventures onto a new topic.

WRITER:

Mamaji tells me you're a legend

among sailors, too. Out there all

alone -

ADULT PI:

I don't even know how to sail. And

I wasn't alone out there. Richard

Parker was with me.

WRITER:

Richard Parker...? Mamaji didn't

tell me everything. He just said I

should look you up when I got back

to Montreal.

ADULT PI:

So what were you doing in

Pondicherry?

WRITER:

Writing a novel.

ADULT PI:

By the way, I enjoyed your first

book. The new one, is it set in

India?

WRITER:

No, Portugal, actually. But it's

cheaper living in India.

ADULT PI:

Ah. Well, I look forward to reading

it.

WRITER:

You can't. I threw it out. Two

years trying to bring it to life,

and then one day it sputtered,

coughed, and died.

ADULT PI:

I'm sorry.

9.

WRITER:

(Shrugs, making light of

it.)

I was in a coffee house in

Pondicherry one afternoon, mourning

my loss, when this old man at the

next table struck up a

conversation.

ADULT PI:

Yeah, Mamaji. He does that.

WRITER:

When I told him about my abandoned

book, he said:

(Imitating Mamaji:)

"So... a Canadian who's come to

French India in search of a story.

Well, my friend, I know an Indian

in French Canada who has the most

incredible story to tell. It must

be fate that the two of you should

meet."

ADULT PI:

I haven't spoken about Richard

Parker in so many years... What has

Mamaji already told you?

WRITER:

He said you had a story that would

make me believe in God.

ADULT PI:

(Pi laughs.)

He would say that about a nice

meal. As for God, I can only tell

you my story; you will decide for

yourself what you believe.

WRITER:

Fair enough.

ADULT PI:

Let's see, then - where to begin?

CUT TO:
MONTAGE

OF PONDICHERRY,

1954:

10.

19 EXT. PONDICHERRY, SHORELINE 1954 - DAY 19

- The SHORELINE - Bicycles and pedestrians; policemen in
round, flat-top French hats.

ADULT PI (V.O.)

Pondicherry is the "French Riviera

of India." In the streets closest

to the ocean, you might think you

were in the South of France.

20 EXT. ASHRAM STREET, 1954 - DAY 20

- Grey ASHRAM buildings, which give way to images of...

21 EXT. PONDICHERRY CANAL, 1954 - DAY 21

- The CANAL, and just beyond it, INDIAN PONDI.

ADULT PI (V.O.)

A few blocks inland, there's a

canal; just beyond that is Indian

Pondicherry...

SC. 22 EXT. PONDICHERRY MUSLIM QUARTER, 1954 - DAY 22

- The MUSLIM QUARTER, women in head scarves pass men baking

flatbread over coals, the mosque in the background.

ADULT PI (V.O.)

And the Muslim Quarter is just to

the West.

18 INT. PI'S HOME - CONTINUED 18

ADULT PI:

When the French handed Pondicherry

back to us in 1954, the town

decided that some sort of

commemoration was in order.

25 EXT. ZOO ENTRANCE, 1955 - DAY 25

The sign on the gate reads: "JARDIN BOTANIQUE DE

PONDICHERRY."

ADULT PI (V.O.)
My father, who was a clever

businessman, came up with one.

(MORE)

11.

ADULT PI (V.O.) (CONT'D)

He ran a hotel, and he got the idea

to open a zoo in the local

Botanical Gardens instead.

Father oversees a SIGN PAINTER as the painter who adds the

words 'AND ZOO' to the sign.

26 EXT. THE NURSERY - CONTINUOUS 26

WOMEN WORKERS plant and dig in the Botanical Gardens nursery.

As MOTHER (refined - 20's) passes by, she admonishes a worker

who pulls up a sapling with too much force.

ADULT PI (V.O.)

As it also happened, my mother was

a botanist in the Gardens. They

met, married, and a year later my

brother Ravi was born. I came two

years after that.

27 INT. PI'S HOME, OUTER ROOM, MONTREAL - DAY 27

WRITER:

It sounds magical, growing up in-

The Writer stops, realizing that Pi's eyes are closed in

prayer. The Writer watches in awkward silence, his head

halfbowed.

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ADULT PI:

Amen. Let's eat.

WRITER:

I didn't know Hindus said 'amen.'

ADULT PI:

(As he serves food:)

Catholic Hindus do.

WRITER:

Catholic Hindus?

ADULT PI:

We get to feel guilty before

hundreds of gods instead of just

one.

WRITER:

But you're a Hindu first?

12.

PI:

None of us knows God until someone

introduces us. I was first

introduced to God as a Hindu. There

are 330 million gods in the Hindu

religion - how can I not come to

know a few of them?

28 EXT. OUTSIDE THE PATEL HOME, 1966 - NIGHT 28

YOUNG PI (5) and Ravi listen to Mother quietly singing a

gentle tune as she kneels before their home, using rice

powder to draw a Kolam pattern - a geometric design meant to

bring the home prosperity.

PI (V.O.)

I met Krishna first...
MOTHER (V.O., IN TAMIL)

Yashoda once accused baby Krishna

of eating dirt:
"Tut, tut, you

naughty boy - you shouldn't do

that..."

29 INT. PI'S BEDROOM, 1966 - NIGHT 29

It is raining outside. Pan from the window; Mother lies in

bed with Pi as they continue sharing this story for the

thousandth time. Mother's voice plays over (Note: they speak

in Tamil throughout the following dialogue):

PI:

...But he didn't!

MOTHER:

That's what he told her. "I didn't

eat dirt!" "No? Well, then open

your mouth." So Krishna opened his

mouth.

Pi opens his mouth in imitation.

MOTHER (TAMIL) (CONT'D)

And what do you think Yashoda saw?

PI (TAMIL)

What?

MOTHER (TAMIL)

She saw in Krishna's mouth the

whole entire universe.

13.

30 PI AND RAVI'S BEDROOM, 1966 - NIGHT 30

Pi has made a tent of his blanket, a flashlight glowing

beneath the covers. In his tent, Pi flips through the pages

of a Hindu comic book, enthralled by the story of Krishna...

The panels of the comic book show Krishna's mouth falling

open, revealing stars and planets, the universe unfolding in

wondrous detail.

34 PONDI TEMPLE COURTYARD, 1966 - NIGHT 34

A tank ceremony is about to begin. The tank is a square

reservoir the size of a soccer field; Pi's family sits among

the crowd on the steps that lead down to the water.

ADULT PI (V.O.)

The gods were my superheroes

growing up. Hanuman, the monkey

god, lifting an entire mountain to

save his friend Lakshmana. Ganesh,

the elephantheaded, risking his

life to defend the honor of his

mother Parvati. Vishnu, the Supreme

Soul, the source of all things.

Vishnu sleeps, floating on the

shoreless cosmic ocean and we are

the stuff of his dreaming.

FATHER:

(With quiet sincerity.)

Spectacle. Don't let the stories

and pretty lights fool you, boys.

Religion is darkness.

ADULT PI (V.O.)

My dear 'Appa' believed himself

part of the 'new India.' As a

child, he'd had polio; he used to

lie in bed, wracked with pain,

wondering where God was. In the

end, God didn't save him; Western

medicine did.

Below, Mother watches the ceremony, lost in contemplation.

14.

ADULT PI (V.O.)

My 'Amma' went to college and

thought her family was part of the

'new India' as well - until her

parents cut her off because they

thought she was marrying beneath

her. Her religion was the only link

she had to her past.

36 EXT. MUNNAR TEA FIELDS, 1973 - DAY 36

Rocky mountaintops jut up through a sea of clouds and mist.

ADULT PI (V.O.)

I met Christ in the mountains when

I was 12. We were visiting

relatives, tea growers in Munnar.

It was our third day there; Ravi

and I were terribly bored.

Ravi walks up to Pi, coins in hand, and whispers.

RAVI (14)

Challenge. I'll give you two

rupees. Run into that church and

drink the Holy water.

37 INT. CATHOLIC CHURCH, 1973 - DAY 37

Pi leans down to the font beside the door and drinks. He's

about to leave again when he notices the stations of the

cross depicted on plaques that encircle the church.
PRIEST:

You must be thirsty. Here, I

brought you this.

Not knowing what else to do, Pi takes the glass and drinks.

An awkward pause as he searches for something - anything - to

say. He finally points up to one of the paintings.

PI:

Why would a god do that? Why would

he send his own son to suffer for

the sins of ordinary people?

The Priest smiles down upon Pi.

PRIEST:

Because He loves us. God made

Himself approachable to us - human -

so we could understand Him.

(MORE)

15.

PRIEST (CONT'D)

We can't understand God in all His

perfection, but we can understand

God's son and His suffering as we

would a brother's.

38 INT. PI'S DINING ROOM, MONTREAL - INTERCUT/CONTINUOUS 38

ADULT PI:

That made no sense. Sacrificing the

innocent to atone for the sins of

the guilty? What kind of love is

that?

39 EXT. PLANTATION HOME, MUNNAR, 1973 - DAY 39

Ravi and other kids play cricket. Pi sits by a stream, lost

in thought.

ADULT PI (V.O.)

But this Son - I couldn't get Him

out of my head.