Life Of Pi Page #5

FATHER (CONT'D)

You only need to convert to three

more religions, Piscine, and you

will spend your life on holiday.

RAVI:

(Laughing:
)

Are you going to Mecca this year,

Swami Jesus? Or to Rome, for your

coronation as Pope Pi-us?

MOTHER:

You stay out of this, Ravi. Just as

you like cricket, Pi has his own

interests.

FATHER:

No Gita, Ravi has a point, no? You

cannot follow three different

religions at the same time,

Piscine.

PI:

Why not?

FATHER:

Because believing in everything at

the same time is the same as not

believing in anything at all.

MOTHER:

He's young Santosh - he's still

finding his way.

FATHER:

And how can he find his way if he

does not choose a path?

(To Pi:
)

Listen:
instead of leaping from one

religion to the next, why not start

with reason? In a few hundred

years, science has taken us farther

in understanding the universe than

religion has in ten thousand.

MOTHER:

That is true. Your father is right.

Science can teach us more about

what's out there -

(With a hand to her

heart:
)

- but not what is in here. Art,

music, literature - they all spring

from our faith.

18.

FATHER:

Some eat meat, some eat vegetable.

I do not expect us all to agree

about everything. But I would much

rather have you believe in

something I don't agree with than

to accept everything blindly. And

that begins with thinking

rationally. Do you understand?

Pi nods.

FATHER (CONT'D)

Good.

Pause.

PI:

I would like to be baptized.

Father and Mother react. Ravi stifles a laugh.

46 EXT. PI'S STREET - DAY 46

Pi walks down the front steps of his row house, stretching

and rubbing his belly at the end of a good meal. The writer

follows.

WRITER:

So you're a Christian and a Muslim?

ADULT PI:

And a Hindu, of course.

WRITER:

And a Jew, I suppose?

ADULT PI:

Oh, well, I do teach a course on

the Kabbalah at the University. And

why not? Faith is a house with many

rooms.

WRITER:

But no room for doubt?

ADULT PI:

Plenty. On every floor. Doubt is

useful. It keeps faith a living

thing. After all, you can't know

the strength of your faith until

it's been tested.

19.

47 INT. THE TIGER FEEDING AREA, 1973, PART 1 - DAY 47

Pi (12) and Ravi (14) cross into a drab cement enclosure

behind the tiger exhibit. A hallway with closed gates at both

ends leads out to the exhibit.

RAVI:

Where's Selvam? We shouldn't be in

here without him.

PI:

Stop worrying. I have seen him do

this a thousand times. I want to

meet our new tiger.

He drops meat on the floor by the bars.

RAVI:

Pi!...

PI:

Hello! Richard Parker!

48 EXT. MONTREAL STREET - DAY 48

Pi and the writer walk along a Montreal street. The Writer

stares at Pi, bewildered.

WRITER:

A tiger? Richard Parker was a

tiger?

ADULT PI:

He got his name through a clerical

error. A hunter caught him drinking

from a stream when he was a cub and

named him Thirsty. When Thirsty got

too big, the hunter sold him to our

zoo - but the names got switched on

the paperwork. The hunter was

listed as Thirsty and tiger was

called Richard Parker. We laughed

about it and the name stuck.

47 EXT. THE TIGER FEEDING AREA, PART TWO 1973 - DAY 47

RAVI:

Let's go. Before we get into

trouble.

PI:

I want to see him close up.

20.

RAVI:

You're not a zoo keeper. Come on!

An adolescent BENGAL TIGER appears at the other end of thE

hall. Ravi bolts, running out of the feeding area. Pi is

enchanted.

PI:

(offering meat)

That's it, Richard Parker. It's for

you.

Pi holds the lamb through the bars, The tiger walks slowly

down the hallway, regarding Pi with a detached curiosity, as

unthreatening in his manner as a large housecat. Pi begins

trembling from sheer excitement.

He doesn't hear the approach of uneven footsteps - Father

appears, followed by Ravi. Just as Richard Parker approaches

the offering.

FATHER:

No!!!

Father yanks Pi violently away from the cage, wrenching Pi's

hand through the bars. Richard Parker, startled, raises his

head, hissing. He turns and bounds back out through the gate

at the other end of the hallway, disappearing into the

exhibit area. Father spins Pi around and shoves him against

the wall.

FATHER (CONT'D)

What are you thinking?! Are you out

of your mind? Who gave you

permission to come back here? You

have just ignored everything I have

ever taught you!

PI:

I just wanted to say 'Hello' to

him.

FATHER:

You think that tiger is your

friend. He is an animal, not a

playmate!

PI:

Animals have souls. I've seen it in

their eyes.

Father turns to Ravi, who stands by the gate.

21.

FATHER:

Find Selvam!

50 EXT. THE FEEDING CAGES, 1973 - A SHORT TIME LATER 50

Father, Pi and Ravi watch as Selvam carries a goat into the

feeding area.

SELVAM:

(In Hindi:
)

You're sure, Mr. Patel? Pi's just a

kid.

FATHER:

(In Hindi:
)

Do it. Go ahead.

Selvam sets the goat down and ties a piece of rope around the

animal's neck.

FATHER (CONT'D)

(To the boys:
)

Animals don't think like we do;

people who forget that get

themselves killed. That tiger is

not your friend. When you look into

his eyes, you are seeing your own

emotions reflected back at you -

nothing else.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes