`Life Of Pi` collects Rs 19.5 crore over the weekend in India

Mumbai: Ang Lee directed `Life Of Pi`, an adventure story starring Indian actors Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan and Tabu, has amassed Rs 19.5 crores over the weekend in India. Released on November 23 in 2D and 3D in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu across theatres in India, the film registered the fourth biggest opening weekend of the year, and the sixth highest of all time. It is also the second highest opening of all time for Fox Star Studios after James Cameron`s 3D epic `Avatar`, a release by the studio said. The record of the biggest opening for a Hollywood film goes to Sony Pictures` `The Amazing Spider-Man`, which had earned Rs 34 crore in a weekend while its last release -- James Bond film `Skyfall` -- had earned Rs 27.5 crore for the weekend earlier this month. Oscar-winner Lee, behind cinema gems like `Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon` and `Brokeback Mountain`, has narrated a visually stunning story of a boy who is adrift at sea on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger after his family is drowned in a shipwreck. In a first of its kind for a Hollywood film, the movie provides a great platform for Indian talent with its cast and crew (debutante Suraj Sharma, Tabu and Irrfan Khan). Lee also sets the early part of the movie in some of India`s most scenic spots like Pondicherry and the hillside town of Munnar, which have been captured beautifully in the movie. The film is based on Yann Martel`s book of the same name. PTI