Let me begin with disclaimer: I haven't read the novel "Life of Pi" and hence am not enamored by it like some of my friends were, when I went to watch the movie. I went because they said it is great. So here is what I felt...
The Catch 22...
1] Hollywood is Hollywood: Amazing picturization.
2] Animals: How do they get them to perform ?
3] Tabu: Am I happy to see her ?
4] Adil Hussain: Where was he before English Vinglish unleashed him like never before ?
5] Suraj Sharma: Had problems with his assignments at school. But, boy ! He's done a magnificent job with this one !
6] CG: Computer graphics are of the highest order.
7] The Pacific: Becomes a character in the movie. If Water World bored us, this one gives hope...
8] Hope: An amazing feeling that keeps us alive, shown in the best ever manner !
9] Irrfan Khan: I am a Fan of this Khan !
10] Yann Martel: What a novel it must be, one for my kart !
11] Ang Lee: Amazing ability to get into the story.
12] Characterization and continuity: How Pi and the Tiger look progressively emaciated through the journey is handled with amazing care.
13] Story inside the story: The second story told by Pi to convince the Japanese officials is quite symbolic of the animal instincts inside us !
14] Mathematics: For someone who loves Maths, I loved the name Pi and the evolution of Pi.
15] Determination: To get rid of the tag "Pissing", the little boy shows the determination to write the value of "Pi" or 22/7 that covers 3 black boards. That determination is what saves him in the end !
16] Bonding: How the boy decides to develop a bonding with the tiger and trains him is shown very well.
17] Orange Juice: What a cute 'Mother' Pi found for him self in his 'other' story.
18] Narration: Irrfan Khan's very Indian narration with occasional accent augurs well.
19] Carnivorous island: Almost 'Avatar' like floating island shown in 2 beautiful shades of day and night. Symbolic of the good and bad.
20] Thunderstorm: A fantastic picturization of nature's wrath and how it plays.
21] Piscine Molitor: The most beautiful swimming pool in the world after which the protagonist was named.
22] Richard Parker: What a magnificent creature this Royal Bengal Tiger is !
And the 7 I didn't catch...
1] Patel family speaking Tamil is something I don't know, even if they live in Pondichery, I can't really understand that !
2] Religions: Well, the author must have wanted to strike a balance between all religions and thus Pi Patel follows all religions and believes in all Gods as if those 33 crore gods his original religion foisted on him weren't enough.
3] Animals have souls but not emotions: Tell that to your dog and see how bad he'll feel. I know they have emotions and have seen that !
4] Tee shirts: Pi Patel is seen wearing some tee shirts which were not really existing in India of 1970s. A little bit of goof up there ?
5] God: If god is the one who saved Pi Patel, then god is the one who killed his family and many more. Why did god do that ? I have yet to find an answer to this question even in real life !
6] Anandi: Sravanthi Sainath has such gorgeous eyes, I would've preferred to drown in them if I were Pi Patel. That would've saved him from a lot of suffering during his ordeal. But there is very little of those beautiful pair of eyes.
7] 3D effects: Perhaps I was looking for "Pi in the Sky" but I was disappointed by the lack of 3D effects in certain places in the movie.
But 22 out-weighs 7 by 3.1428571428571 times !
A beautiful cinematic experience nevertheless and is strongly recommended for family viewing !
1] Hollywood is Hollywood: Amazing picturization.
2] Animals: How do they get them to perform ?
3] Tabu: Am I happy to see her ?
4] Adil Hussain: Where was he before English Vinglish unleashed him like never before ?
5] Suraj Sharma: Had problems with his assignments at school. But, boy ! He's done a magnificent job with this one !
6] CG: Computer graphics are of the highest order.
7] The Pacific: Becomes a character in the movie. If Water World bored us, this one gives hope...
8] Hope: An amazing feeling that keeps us alive, shown in the best ever manner !
9] Irrfan Khan: I am a Fan of this Khan !
10] Yann Martel: What a novel it must be, one for my kart !
11] Ang Lee: Amazing ability to get into the story.
12] Characterization and continuity: How Pi and the Tiger look progressively emaciated through the journey is handled with amazing care.
13] Story inside the story: The second story told by Pi to convince the Japanese officials is quite symbolic of the animal instincts inside us !
14] Mathematics: For someone who loves Maths, I loved the name Pi and the evolution of Pi.
15] Determination: To get rid of the tag "Pissing", the little boy shows the determination to write the value of "Pi" or 22/7 that covers 3 black boards. That determination is what saves him in the end !
16] Bonding: How the boy decides to develop a bonding with the tiger and trains him is shown very well.
17] Orange Juice: What a cute 'Mother' Pi found for him self in his 'other' story.
18] Narration: Irrfan Khan's very Indian narration with occasional accent augurs well.
19] Carnivorous island: Almost 'Avatar' like floating island shown in 2 beautiful shades of day and night. Symbolic of the good and bad.
20] Thunderstorm: A fantastic picturization of nature's wrath and how it plays.
21] Piscine Molitor: The most beautiful swimming pool in the world after which the protagonist was named.
22] Richard Parker: What a magnificent creature this Royal Bengal Tiger is !
And the 7 I didn't catch...
1] Patel family speaking Tamil is something I don't know, even if they live in Pondichery, I can't really understand that !
2] Religions: Well, the author must have wanted to strike a balance between all religions and thus Pi Patel follows all religions and believes in all Gods as if those 33 crore gods his original religion foisted on him weren't enough.
3] Animals have souls but not emotions: Tell that to your dog and see how bad he'll feel. I know they have emotions and have seen that !
4] Tee shirts: Pi Patel is seen wearing some tee shirts which were not really existing in India of 1970s. A little bit of goof up there ?
5] God: If god is the one who saved Pi Patel, then god is the one who killed his family and many more. Why did god do that ? I have yet to find an answer to this question even in real life !
6] Anandi: Sravanthi Sainath has such gorgeous eyes, I would've preferred to drown in them if I were Pi Patel. That would've saved him from a lot of suffering during his ordeal. But there is very little of those beautiful pair of eyes.
7] 3D effects: Perhaps I was looking for "Pi in the Sky" but I was disappointed by the lack of 3D effects in certain places in the movie.
But 22 out-weighs 7 by 3.1428571428571 times !
A beautiful cinematic experience nevertheless and is strongly recommended for family viewing !
