Cast:Irrfan Khan,Suraj Sharma,Tabu
Director:Ang Lee
Language:English
Run Time:127 minutes
Plot:Its a story of a teenage boy named "Pi" & his survival in the dangerous
pacific ocean on a life boat with the ferrocious Bengal Tiger for days.
Review:The first surprise of the movie is that the entire plot of
the movie is around an Indian family & post portugal era of pondichery.I
went with the thought that just like other hollywood movies even this will have
some Indian characters.But to my surprise this is a start to finish Indian
movie.Good to see such big bucks being spent on Indian stories &
characters.I can imagine being a non Indian how much research Ang Lee would've
done to make an Indian film & that shows in the first 30 minutes of the movie
where he has portrayed a modern Indian family who owns a zoo in
Pondichery.Loved the message on religion through 5 year old's point of
view.Strongly recommend if you have a 5-10 year old at home & he has
questions about religion.Due to some financial crisis,the family decides to
shift to canada & sell zoo animals in north America.The movie(special
effects) start once the ship is wrecked in a terrible storm in Marina
trench.What follows is a spectacular survival saga of a young vegetarian boy on
a life boat with a Bengal tiger who both have survived the rough weather &
now are on the same boat.
Ang Lee has shown marine life like we've never seen before.The
scale & vision of the director is so grand.Giant whales,octopus,flying
fishes,carnivorous island,sparkling gelly fish all are there like we've seen
never before.The night scenes of the ocean are really breathtaking. But the
biggest attraction is the Bengal Tiger.Its hard to tell if its a real tiger or
the special effects.The countless encounters of the tiger & a boy in a tiny
lifeboat are a thing to watch.The expressions of the tiger & his anger are
something you can't forget.I wonder how Lee managed this.If there's one movie
whose making I would want to see will be this.People compare this movie with Avtar.But let me warn you that this one is
different.Action is in parts.But the movie is not about special effects.Its
about this boy & his childhood learnings & his parents' upbringing
helping him survive.
I am happy that it has not been promoted as special effects film.Infact
i found the quality of 3-D quite ordinary.Infact in the second half I hardly
could make out 3-D effects.Some panoramic scenes of the ocean are so evidently
unnatural that you can make out that its shot in a studio.At times scenes of
water splashes & waves are repeatative.Somehow the philosophical climax is
confusing & was not needed.
As per the cast,Suraj Sharma is extraordinary for a newcomer.Tabu
has done her job
well.Nothing much in her role.Irrfan as grown up "Pi" telling his tale of survival is
good.But the character that got stuck in my mind was "Adil
Hussain" playing
father of "Pi'.Some of you must've seen him in "ENGLISH VINGLISH" as Sridevi's husband.He is the one to look out for in
the future.Overall a good movie.Kids would love it.I wonder why it has not been
promoted as kid's movie?Some really scary encounters,may not be good for small
children.
Don't mind watching it again.But this time in IMAX 3-D I
guess.Such movies don't come very often.
My Rating:3.5/5,Must watch (with family).Take your parents also even if they
don't understand English as this one is the visual treat.
