Piscine Patel a.k.a Pi lives in Pondicherry, where his family owns a zoo. The zoo has brought them a lot of wealth and a comfortable lifestyle along with teaching them the different dimensions of animal phycology. Being bullied in school for his name with some kids pronouncing his name as ‘pissing’, Piscine decides to keep his name as Pi. He also is confused about being brought up as a Hindu and decides to explore Muslim and Christian faiths as well saying he simply loves God.
Meanwhile the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declares an ‘Emergency’ in the country and Pi’s father decides to sell the zoo and move to Canada. The family along with their zoo animals is boarded on a Japanese freighter, but tragedy comes in the form of a storm and the freighter sinks.
Most of the animals and his parents die in the storm. Only Pi and a massive Bengal Tiger named ‘Richard Parker’ are the survivors of the catastrophe. Both of them must trust each other to survive. Pi eventually starts to talk to the Tiger and they both become friends.
The boat eventually reaches the beach of Mexico after 227 days and Richard Parker runs off to a nearby jungle. Pi then tells his tale of survival to the Japanese officials. The movie is directed by Ang Lee and produced by Gil Netter, Ang Lee and David Womark. The music is composed by Mychael Danna.
