Life Of Pi

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.

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