So you were raised in a zoo?
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.
Mother and I
were both healthy...
but the poor lizard escaped...
and was trampled
by a frightened cassowary.
The way of karma, huh?
The way of God.
That's quite a story.
I had assumed your father was a
mathematician
because of your name.
Far from it, I was named
after a swimming pool.
There is a swimming pool named "Pi"?
You see,
my uncle Francis was born
with too much
water in his lungs.
They say the doctors
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.
Is Francis actually your uncle?
He said he was
friends with your father.
He's my honorary uncle,
I call him Mamaji.
My father's best friend,
my swimming guru.
I trained with him three
times a week at the ashram.
His lessons would save my
life in the end.
A mouthful of water will not
harm you, but panic will.
Remember to breathe now,
don't hold your breath.
Good boy.
I hope you don't
mind vegetarian.
No, no. Not at all.
And your name?
Huh?
You were going to tell me how
you got your name, I think.
Oh, yes. I got it from something
Mamaji once told my father.
You see, most travelers collect
postcards or teacups
on their journeys...
but not Mamaji.
Mamaji collects swimming pools.
He swims in every
pool he comes upon.
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.
Before I was born, he said...
"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.
But he did, and I was named
"Piscine Molitor Patel."
Imagine me trying
to explain that name.
I barely made it to
the age of 11 before...
Hey, Piscine!
Are you pissing right now?
Look at him, he's pissing!
With one word, my name went from
an elegant French swimming pool...
to a stinking Indian latrine.
I was "Pissing" everywhere.
No Pissing in the schoolyard!
Even the teachers
started doing it.
Not deliberately, of course.
So, then, what might occur
if we release gas too quickly?
Pissing?
He said "Pissing."
That's enough!
Order! Order!
When we returned the next
year for our first day of school,
I was prepared.
Present, sir.
Piscine Patel.
Good morning.
I am Piscine Molitor Patel.
Known to all as...
Pi, the sixteenth letter
of the Greek alphabet...
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 3.14.
Pi.
Very impressive, Pi.
Now, sit down.
And from then on,
you were "Pi"?
Well, no, not quite.
Nice try, Pissing.
But I still had the whole
day ahead of me.
French class was next.
Je m'appelle
Piscine Molitor Patel.
Dit Pi.
Then, geography.
These are the first
My last class of the
day was mathematics.
Slowly, slowly, slowly.
Three.
Seven. Five. Eight. Nine.
Eight. Five. Eight. Nine.
It's right.
He's really doing this.
Pi! Pi! Pi!
By the end of that day,
I was Pi Patel, school legend.
Um, Mamaji tells me you're a
legend among sailors, too.
Out there, all alone.
Oh, I don't even know
how to sail.
And I wasn't alone out there.
Richard Parker was with me.
Richard Parker?
Mamaji didn't tell me
everything.
He just said I should look you
up when I got back to Montreal.
So, what were you
doing in Pondicherry?
Writing a novel.
By the way,
I enjoyed your first book.
So, this new one,
is it set in India?
No, Portugal, actually. But
it's cheaper living in India.
Ah, well, I look
forward to reading it.
You can't.
I threw it out.
Two years trying to bring
this thing to life...
and then one day, it
sputtered, coughed and died.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Uh, I was sitting in this coffee
house in Pondicherry one afternoon,
mourning my loss...
when this old man at the table next
to me struck up a conversation.
Yeah, Mamaji, he does that.
When I told him about my
abandoned book, he said...
"So, a
Canadian who's come to French India
in search of a story."
"Well, my friend, I know an
Indian in French Canada...
with the most
incredible story to tell."
"It must be fate that the
two of you should meet."
Well, I haven't spoken about
Richard Parker in so many years.
So, what has
Mamaji already told you?
He said you had a story that
would make me believe in God.
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.
Fair enough.
Let's see, then.
Where to begin?
Pondicherry is the
French Riviera of India.
In the streets
closest to the ocean,
you might think you were
in the south of France.
A few blocks inland,
there's a canal.
Just beyond that
is Indian Pondicherry.
And the Muslim quarter
is just to the west.
When the French handed Pondicherry
back to us in 1954...
the town decided that some sort
of commemoration was in order.
My father, who was a clever
businessman, came up with one.
He ran a hotel, and he got
the idea to open a zoo...
in the local
botanical gardens instead.
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.
It sounds magical,
growing up in...
Amen.
Yeah, let's eat.
I didn't know
Hindus said "amen."
Catholic Hindus do.
Catholic Hindus?
We get to feel guilty before hundreds
of gods, instead of just one.
But you're a Hindu first?
None of us knows God
until someone introduces us.
I was first introduced
to God as a Hindu.
There are 33 million gods
in the Hindu religion.
How can I not come to
know a few of them?
I met Krishna first.
Yashoda once accused
baby Krishna of eating dirt.
"Tut, tut you naughty boy -
you shouldn't do that."
But he didn't!
That's what he told her.
"I didn't eat dirt."
Yashoda said,
"No? Well then..."
"Open your mouth."
So Krishna opened his mouth.
And what do you think
Yashoda saw?
What?
She saw in Krishna's mouth
the whole entire universe.
The gods were my
superheroes growing up.
Hanuman, the monkey god...
lifting an entire mountain
to save his friend Lakshman.
Ganesh, the elephant-headed...
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.
Spectacle.
Don't let these stories and
pretty lights fool you, boys.
Religion is darkness.
My dear appa believed
himself part of the new India.
As a child, he had had polio.
He used to lie in bed racked with
pain, wondering where God was.
In the end, God didn't save
him, Western medicine did.
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.
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.
Challenge.
I'll give you two rupees.
Run in to that church
and drink the holy water.
You must be thirsty.
Here.
I brought you this.
Why would a god do that?
Why would
He send His own son...
to suffer for the sins
of ordinary people?
Because He loves us.
God made Himself
approachable to us,
human,
so we could understand Him.
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.
That made no sense.
Sacrificing the innocent to atone
for the sins of the guilty...
What kind of love is that?
But this son...
I couldn't get
him out of my head.
If God is so
perfect and we are not...
why would He want
to create all this?
Why does He need us at all?
All you have to know
is that He loves us.
God so loved this world
that He gave His only son.
The longer
I listened to the priest...
the more I came to like
this son of God.
Thank you, Vishnu,
for introducing me to Christ.
I came to faith
through Hinduism
and I found God's
love through Christ.
But God wasn't
finished with me yet.
God works in mysterious ways.
And so it was,
He introduced Himself again.
This time by the name of Allah.
Allahu Akbar.
My Arabic
was never very good...
but the sound and feel of the
words brought me closer to God.
In performing Salah...
the ground I touched
became holy ground...
and I found a feeling
of serenity and brotherhood.
This lamb is exquisite.
It's the best
dish on the table.
You're all missing out.
You only need to convert to three
more religions, Piscine...
and you will spend your life on holiday.
Are you going to Mecca
this year, Swami Jesus?
Or to Rome for your
coronation as Pope Pi-us?
You stay out of this, Ravi.
Just as you like cricket,
Pi has his own interests.
No, Gita, Ravi has a point.
You cannot follow three different
religions at the same time, Piscine.
Why not?
Because believing in
everything at the same time...
is the same as not believing
in anything at all.
He's young, Santosh.
He's still finding his way.
And how can he find his way
if he does not choose a path?
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 10,000.
That is true.
Your father is right.
Science can teach us more
about what is out there...
but not what is in here.
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?
Good.
I would like to be baptized.
So, you're a Christian
and a Muslim?
And a Hindu, of course.
And a Jew, I suppose.
Well, I do teach a course on the
Kabbalah at the university.
And why not? Faith is a
house with many rooms.
But no room for doubt?
Oh, plenty.
On every floor.
Doubt is useful.
It keeps faith a living thing.
After all, you cannot know
the strength of your faith
until it's been tested.
Where's Selvam? We shouldn't
be in here without him.
Stop worrying.
I have seen him
do this a thousand times.
I want to meet our new tiger.
Pi!
Hello? Richard Parker?
A tiger? Richard
Parker was a tiger?
Yeah, 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 the tiger
was called Richard Parker.
We laughed about it,
and the name stuck.
Let's go...
before we get into trouble.
I want to see him close up.
You're not a zookeeper.
Come on!
That's it, Richard Parker.
It's for you.
No!
What are you thinking?
Are you out of your mind?
Who gave you permission
to come back here?
You have just ignored everything
I've ever taught you.
I just wanted to
say hello to him.
You think that tiger
is your friend?
He's an animal, not a playmate.
Animals have souls.
I have seen it in their eyes.
Find Selvam.
You're sure, Sir?
Pi's just a boy.
Do it. Go ahead!
Animals do not 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.
Don't be stupid.
Say you're sorry.
What have you done, Piscine?
You know what your father
said about coming back here.
I am sorry. I was...
What are you thinking?
This is between
a father and his sons.
He said he's sorry.
You want to scar them for life?
Scar them?
That boy almost lost his arm.
But he's still a boy.
He will be a man
sooner than you think.
And this is a lesson I do not
want them ever to forget.
Selvam!
...and so has placed
the country in a state of emergency.
Under the directive, the states
of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu...
will be placed under the direct
authority of the central government.
Police will be granted powers...
to arrest and indefinitely
detain citizens
responsible for the uprising.
Things changed after
the day of Appa's lesson.
The world had lost
some of its enchantment.
School was a bore. Nothing but
facts, fractions and French.
Words and patterns that went
on and on, without end.
Just like
my irrational nickname.
I grew restless
searching for something
that might bring meaning
back into my life.
And then, I met Anandi.
Mother made me study music.
And one day, my teacher
came down with the flu.
He asked if
I could take his place,
playing rhythms
for a dance class.
No.
If you do not concentrate...
you cannot express your
love of God through dance.
Feel the ground
beneath your feet.
Open your gaze out
onto the horizon.
Let that spiritual energy pulse
through you and out into the world.
Through abhinaya.
Anandi, come to the front.
Lead them.
Why are you following me?
What?
You were following me.
What does this mean?
In the dance,
you went from pataka...
which means the forest.
And then you did...
samputa...
which means
something that is hidden.
And after that, you did this.
And then you did chatura.
But at the very end,
you did this.
None of the other
dancers did that.
What did you mean? The god of
love is hiding in the forest?
No, that also means
the lotus flower.
Lotus flower
is hiding in the forest?
Why would a lotus flower
hide in the forest?
And this is Richard Parker.
He is the most
magnificent creature
we've ever had here.
Look at the way
he's turning his head.
Showing off. Like a dancer.
No, he heard something.
He's listening, you see?
We have talked
about it for some time.
Do you understand
what I'm saying?
Pi?
Sorry, you've been...
Worried.
For my family.
Our animals are worth far more
abroad than here in India.
And if the town council
stops supporting us...
I don't know where we will be.
So, it is what we have to do.
Do you understand?
I'm sorry,
what are we talking about?
We are leaving India.
What?
We are selling the zoo.
The zoo was never ours to sell.
The land belongs to the town.
But the animals are ours
and if we sell them...
we will have enough
to start a new life.
But where would we go?
Our life is here, Appa.
Canada.
I have some opportunities
for work in Winnipeg.
I'll be shipping most of the
animals for sale in North America.
We can get freighter passage
for the whole family.
So...
It is settled.
We will sail like Columbus.
But Columbus
was looking for India.
It takes
a lot of work to sell a zoo.
Before we left...
Anandi and I had time enough
to break each other's hearts.
Of course, I promised
I would come back one day.
It's funny.
I remember everything else
about our last day.
But I don't remember
saying goodbye.
Pi? They're
serving dinner below.
Piscine...
you have a whole life
ahead of you.
We are doing this
for you and Ravi.
Come inside
and have some dinner.
Vegetarian, please.
Oh, my sons and I are vegetarians.
Do you have anything...
No, no, no.
Not more gravy.
You don't want gravy?
No.
No, I want something
vegetarian.
Oh.
Pas de problme.
She asked if you have
something vegetarian.
The cow that produced
this liver was vegetarian,
the pigs that went into
these sausages were vegetarian.
Very funny.
But my wife doesn't eat liver.
Pas de problme.
Then she can eat the sausage,
the rice, and the gravy.
Or you can cook your own food.
Haw dare you talk
to my wife like that?
Here's your rice.
I cook for sailors...
not curry-eaters.
What did you say?
Let go of me!
Who do you think you are?
You're nothing but a servant!
I feed people!
You feed monkeys!
Hello.
I am happy Buddhist.
So, I eat rice
next to gravy.
On ship, gravy is not meat.
Is taste.
You try?
Don't worry.
We will have plenty of fresh
supplies after we stop in Manila.
Why give Orange Juice
tranquilizers?
She's not going to
cause any trouble.
The stress of traveling
is not good for the animals...
and it helps
with the seasickness.
We don't want to be cleaning up
after a seasick orangutan...
do we?
My father was a businessman.
He had never tended
the animals himself.
I realized...
leaving India must have been
harder for him than it was for me.
So...
Have I forgotten anything?
I think you've set the stage.
So far, we have an Indian boy named
after a French swimming pool...
on a Japanese ship full of
animals, heading to Canada.
Yes.
Now, we have to send our boy into
the middle of the Pacific and...
And make me believe in God.
Yeah.
We'll get there.
It was four days
out of Manila...
above the Mariana Trench,
the deepest spot on Earth.
Our ship,
The Tsimtsum, pushed on,
bullishly indifferent
to its surroundings.
It moved with the slow, massive
confidence of a continent.
Ravi?
Did you hear that, Ravi?
I'm sleeping.
It's a thunderstorm.
Let's go watch.
Are you crazy?
We will get hit by lightning.
No, we won't. It will
hit the bridge first.
Don't tempt a storm, Pi.
Whoa.
Oh!
More rain! More rain!
Lord of Storms!
Whoa!
Lightning!
Ah!
Amma!
Appa!
Ravi! Get out! Get out!
Help me!
Help!
Get in the boat!
Please! Save my family!
Don't scare, okay?
Wait, stay here!
You have to help them!
Please!
Put this on.
No, no, my family!
Please!
We have to help them!
We don't have time.
My family's back there!
We help!
You must go!
Who let all the animals out?
You have to go now!
No, wait, my father!
He can't swim!
Go!
Hang on to the boat!
Hold, hold!
Bring it down!
Hey! You!
What are you doing?
Jump!
Hey, hey!
Hey! Over here!
Over here!
Richard Parker?
No! No!
No! Go away! Go away!
Agh!
Amma!
Appa! Ravi.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry!
Hari?
Looks as though your drugs
haven't worn off yet.
Orange Juice!
Orange Juice!
Welcome to Pi's Ark.
Where is your boy,
Orange Juice?
Don't worry, I bet mother
and father found him.
They'll all be here soon.
Hello!
Hello!
Anybody!
No!
Stop it! No!
Stop it! Stop it!
No! No!
I'm sorry, Orange Juice.
I don't have any seasickness
medicine for you.
Supplies.
Oh, supplies!
Yes! Yes!
No! No!
No! No!
Come on! Come on!
Come on!
Mmm.
My name is Pi Patel.
I have been in a shipwreck.
I am on a lifeboat alone...
with a tiger.
Please send help.
God, I give myself to you.
I am your vessel.
Whatever comes, I want to know.
Show me.
There are no lines.
Set your house in order and
dig in for the battle to survive.
Establish a strict
schedule for eating,
keeping watch and getting rest.
Do not drink
urine or sea water.
Keep busy but avoid
unnecessary exertion.
The mind can be kept occupied
by playing card games...
Twenty Questions, or! Spy.
Community singing is another
surefire way to lift the spirits.
Telling stories
is highly recommended.
Above all, don't lose hope.
Few things can sap the spirit
faster than seasickness.
Waves are most strongly felt when a
boat turns sideways to the current.
A sea anchor is used as a drag to
keep the boat's head to the wind.
Proper use of them
can increase control
and reduce seasickness
during rough seas.
For castaways who must share
their lifeboats with large,
dangerous carnivores...
it's advisable to establish
a territory as your own.
Try this method.
Step one.
Choose a day when waves are
moderate, but regular.
Step two. With the lifeboat
facing into the waves...
making the ride as comfortable as
possible, blow your whistle soothingly.
Step three. Turn the lifeboat
sideways to the waves...
accompanied by harsh,
aggressive use of the whistle.
With sufficient repetition...
the animal will associate
the sound of the whistle...
with the discomfort
of seasickness.
Similar methods have long been
used by circus trainers...
though they generally lack
access to rough seas.
Let the trumpets blare!
Let the drum rolls begin!
Prepare to be amazed!
Here it is, for your
enjoyment and instruction!
The show you've been waiting
for all your life...
will soon begin!
Are you ready for
the miracle of it?
Well, then, I give to you...
the astounding Bengal tiger!
Hello, Richard Parker.
Sorry about the choppy ride.
Mine! You understand?
Yours, mine!
You understand?
Ew!
Step four.
Disregard steps
one through three.
Here, Richard Parker.
I got some water for you.
In the zoo, we fed our tigers an
average of five kilos of meat a day.
Richard Parker
will be getting hungry soon.
Tigers are powerful swimmers,
and if he gets hungry enough...
I'm afraid the little
bit of water between us
won't be any protection.
I need to find a way
to feed him.
I can eat the biscuits but God
made tigers carnivores...
so I must learn to catch fish.
If I don't,
I'm afraid his last meal
will be a skinny,
vegetarian boy.
Patience!
What am I doing?
Wait! I'm thinking.
Thirty-two cartons
of biscuits.
Ninety-three cans of water.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Thank you, Lord Vishnu.
Thank you for coming in the form
of a fish and saving our lives.
Thank you.
Of course, I brought all
the biscuits and water
on the raft with me
to keep them safe.
Idiot.
Hunger can
change everything you
ever thought you
knew about yourself.
Here, it's yours!
Oh! Ah!
Mine! Mine!
I can't risk my life every time
I have to climb
onto the boat for supplies.
It's time to settle this.
If we're going
to live together,
we have to learn
to communicate.
Maybe Richard Parker
can't be tamed,
but with God's will,
he can be trained.
No!
Good.
Go, Richard Parker. Go.
Go on home,
I'll leave you alone.
I'll respect that, I promise.
Go. Come on.
Yes!
I never thought
a small piece of shade
could bring me
so much happiness.
That a pile of tools,
a bucket, a knife, a pencil...
might become my
greatest treasures.
Or that knowing Richard Parker was
here might ever bring me peace.
In times like these...
I remember that he has
as little experience
with the real world as I do.
We were both raised in a zoo
by the same master.
Now we've been orphaned, left to
face our ultimate master together.
Without Richard Parker,
I would have died by now.
My fear of him keeps me alert.
Tending to his needs
gives my life purpose.
Dolphins.
Hey, Richard Parker!
Hey!
Above all, don't lose hope.
Eight, five, five,
zero, three, six, six...
zero, eight, zero, one...
three, six, zero, four,
six, six, eight...
What are you looking at?
Talk to me.
Tell me what you see.
Words are all I have
left to hang on to.
Everything mixed up.
Fragmented.
Can't tell daydreams, night
dreams, from reality anymo...
Storm, Richard Parker.
No!
No!
Praise be to God!
Lord of all worlds!
The compassionate,
the merciful!
Ah!
Come out.
Richard Parker! Come out,
you have to see this!
It's beautiful!
Don't hide yourself!
He's come to us!
It's a miracle!
Come out and see God,
Richard Parker!
Why are you scaring him?
Oh, God!
I've lost my family!
I've lost everything!
I surrender!
What more do you want?
I'm sorry, Richard Parker.
We're dying, Richard Parker.
I'm sorry.
Amma, Appa, Ravi...
I'm happy I'm going
to see you soon.
Can you feel the rain?
God, thank you for
giving me my life.
I'm ready now.
Richard Parker?
Mmm.
Excuse me.
Move.
Move. Excuse me.
Hey! Hey!
Hey, come on!
Hey.
Hey, get away.
This is my bed.
It was a human tooth?
Don't you see? The
island was carnivorous.
Carnivorous?
Like a Venus Flytrap?
Yes, the whole island.
The plants, the water in those
pools, the very ground itself.
During the day, those
pools held fresh water.
But at night,
some chemical process
turned the water
in those pools into acid...
acid that dissolved
those fish...
that sent the meerkats
scurrying into the trees,
and Richard Parker
running to the boat.
But where did
the tooth come from?
Years ago, some poor fellow,
just like me...
must have found himself
stranded on that island...
and, like me, thought he
might stay there forever.
But all that the island gave him by
day, it took away again by night.
To think, how many hours spent
with only meerkats for company.
How much loneliness taken on.
All I know is that
eventually he died
and the island digested him...
leaving behind only his teeth.
I saw how my life would end
if I stayed on that island.
Alone and forgotten.
I had to get back to the
world, or die trying.
I spent the next day
preparing the boat.
I filled my stores
with fresh water...
ate seaweed until my stomach
could take no more...
and brought as many
meerkats as I could fit
into the storage locker
for Richard Parker.
I couldn't leave
without him, of course.
It would mean killing him.
And so,
I waited for his return.
I knew he wouldn't be late.
Richard Parker!
No one has seen that
floating island since.
And you won't read about those
trees in any nature book.
And yet, if I hadn't found those
shores, I would have died.
If I hadn't
discovered that tooth,
I would have been lost,
alone forever.
Even when God seemed
to have abandoned me...
He was watching.
Even when He seemed indifferent
to my suffering...
He was watching.
And when I was beyond all hope
of saving, He gave me rest...
then gave me a sign
to continue my journey.
By the time we reached
the Mexican shore,
I was afraid to
let go of the boat.
My strength was gone.
I was so weak.
I was afraid that in two feet of
water, so close to deliverance...
I would drown.
I struggled to shore
and fell upon the sand.
It was warm and soft...
like pressing my face
against the cheek of God.
And somewhere, two eyes were
smiling at having me there.
I was so spent,
I could hardly move.
And so, Richard Parker
went ahead of me.
He stretched his legs
and walked along the shore.
At the edge of the jungle,
he stopped.
I was certain he was going
to look back at me...
flatten his ears
to his head, growl.
That he would bring our
relationship to an end in some way.
But he just stared ahead
into the jungle.
And then, Richard Parker,
my fierce companion...
the terrible one
who kept me alive...
disappeared
forever from my life.
After a few hours, a member
of my own species found me.
He left and returned with a
group who carried me away.
I wept like a child.
Not because I was overwhelmed at
having survived, although I was.
I was weeping because Richard
Parker left me so unceremoniously.
It broke my heart.
You know, my father was right.
Richard Parker never
saw me as his friend.
After all we had been through,
he didn't even look back.
But I have to believe there
was more in his eyes...
than my own reflection
staring back at me.
I know it.
I felt it.
Even if I can't prove it.
You know,
I've left so much behind.
My family, the zoo,
India, Anandi.
I suppose, in the end, the whole of
life becomes an act of letting go.
But what always
hurts the most...
is not taking a moment
to say goodbye.
I was never able to thank my
father for all I learned from him.
To tell him,
without his lessons...
I would never have survived.
I know Richard Parker is a
tiger, but I wish I had said...
"It's over.
We survived."
"Thank you for saving my life.
I love you, Richard Parker."
"You will always
be with me."
"May God be with you."
I don't know what to say.
It's hard to believe, isn't it?
It is a lot to take in.
To figure out
what it all means.
If it happened, it happened.
Why should it have
to mean anything?
Some of it is
pretty incredible.
See, I was the only one
who survived the shipwreck.
So the Japanese shipping company
sent two men to talk to me...
in the Mexican hospital
where I was recovering.
I still have a copy
of their report.
They had insurance claims
to settle...
and they wanted to find out
why the ship sank.
They didn't believe me, either.
Thousands of meerkats on a
floating carnivorous island...
and no one has ever seen it?
Yes, just like I told you.
Bananas don't float.
Why are you
talking about bananas?
You said the orangutan floated
to you on a bundle of bananas.
But bananas don't float.
Are you sure about that?
Of course they do.
Try it for yourself.
In any case, we are not here to
talk about bananas or meerkats.
Look, Ive just told you along
story and I'm very tired.
We are here because a Japanese
cargo ship sank in the Pacific.
Something I never forget.
I lost my whole family.
Get him some water.
We don't mean to push you.
And you have our
deepest sympathies.
But we have come a long way...
and we are no closer to
understanding why the ship sank.
Because I don't know.
I was asleep.
Something woke me up.
It could have been an
explosion, I can't be sure.
And then the ship sank.
What else do you want from me?
A story that won't make us
look like fools.
We need a simpler story
for our report.
One our company can understand.
A story we can all believe.
So, a story without things
you've never seen before.
That's right.
Without surprises. Without
animals or islands.
Yes. The truth.
So, what did you do?
I told them another story.
Four of us survived.
The cook and the sailor
were already aboard.
The cook threw me a lifebuoy
and pulled me aboard...
and Mother held on to some bananas
and made it to the lifeboat.
The cook was a disgusting man.
He ate a rat.
We had food enough for weeks, but he
found the rat in the first few days...
and he killed it, dried
it in the sun and ate it.
He was such a brute, that man.
But he was resourceful.
It was his idea to build
the raft to catch fish.
We would have died in those
first few days without him.
The sailor was the same man who
brought rice and gravy, the Buddhist.
We didn't understand much of what he
said, only that he was suffering.
He had broken his leg
horribly in the fall.
We tried to set it as best we could,
but the leg became infected...
and the cook said that we had
to do something or he'd die.
The cook said he'd do it,
but Mother and I had
to hold the man down.
And I believed him,
we needed to do it.
So...
I kept saying,
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
And he just kept looking at me.
His eyes were so...
I'll never understand the point
of that man's suffering.
I can still hear him.
The happy Buddhist,
he only ate rice and gravy.
We didn't save him, of course.
He died.
The morning after, the cook
caught his first dorado...
and I didn't understand what he had
done at first, but Mother did...
and I had never seen
Mother so angry.
"Stop whining and
be happy," he said.
"We need more food or we'll die.
That was the whole point."
"What was the whole point?"
Mother asked.
"You let that poor boy die in
order to get bait, you monster!"
The cook got furious.
He started towards her
with his fist raised...
and Mother slapped him hard,
right across the face.
I was stunned.
I thought he was going
to kill her right then.
But he didn't.
The cook didn't stop
at bait either, no.
The sailor...
He went the same
way the rat went.
The cook was a resourceful man.
It was a week later that he...
Because of me.
Because I couldn't
hold on to a stupid turtle.
It slipped out of my hands
and swam away.
And the cook came up and he punched
me on the side of my head...
and my teeth clacked
and I saw stars.
I thought he was
going to hit me again...
but Mother started pounding
on him with her fists...
screaming,
"Monster, monster!"
She yelled at me
to go to the raft.
I thought she was coming with
me, or I'd never have...
I don't know why I didn't
make her go first.
I think about that every day.
I jumped over and turned back
just as the knife came out.
There wasn't anything
I could do.
I couldn't look away.
He threw her body overboard.
And then the sharks came.
And I saw what they...
I saw.
The next day, I killed him.
He didn't even fight back. He
knew he had gone too far...
even by his own standards.
He'd left the knife
out on the bench,
and I did to him what
he did to the sailor.
He was such an evil man,
but worse still, he...
He brought the evil out in me.
And I have to live with that.
I was alone in a lifeboat...
drifting across
the Pacific Ocean.
And I survived.
After that, they
had no more questions.
The investigators didn't seem
to like the story, exactly.
But they thanked me, they
wished me well, and they left.
So the stories...
both the zebra
and the sailor...
broke their leg.
And the hyena killed the
zebra and the orangutan.
So... the hyena is the cook.
The sailor is the zebra.
Your mother is the orangutan.
And you are...
the tiger.
Can I ask you something?
Of course.
I've told you two stories about
what happened out on the ocean.
Neither explains what caused
the sinking of the ship...
and no one can prove which story
is true and which is not.
In both stories,
the ship sinks...
my family dies and I suffer.
True.
So, which story do you prefer?
The one with the tiger.
That's the better story.
Thank you.
And so it goes with God.
Mamaji was right.
It's an amazing story.
Will you really
let me write it?
Of course.
Isn't that why Mamaji
sent you here, after all?
My wife is here.
Do you want to stay for dinner?
She's an incredible cook.
I didn't know you had a wife.
And a cat and two children.
So, your story does
have a happy ending.
Well, that's up to you.
The story is yours now.
Hmm.
"Mr. Patel's is an astounding
story of courage and endurance...
unparalleled in the
history of shipwrecks."
"Very few castaways can claim to
have survived so long at sea...
and none in the company...
of an adult Bengal tiger."
Hi, Dad.
We have a guest.
Let me introduce you.
Hi.
Hi.
Nice to meet you.
Adita.
Ravi.